A G E N T S O F D U N E

A D V E N T U R E B O O K
 CREDITS
CREATIVE LEAD PROOFREADERS WITH T HANKS TO
John-Paul Brisigotti, Peter Simunovich for Gale Force Nine.
ANDREW PEREGRINE KEITH GARRETT
Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson
BRYCE JOHNSTON and The Herbert Properties team.
WRITERS JOE L EFAVI And our wonderful partners at Legendary and the
extraordinary lmmakers without whom this game could not
RACHAEL C RUZ P R O J E C T M A N AG E R have been made.
And Frank Herbert, author and creator of the Dune Universe,
ANDREW PEREGRINE whose singular vision and imagination have inspired us all.
CHRIS S HEPPERSON
MARI TOKUDA
PETER WRIGHT B R A N D M A N AG E M E N T
LINE EDITOR JOE L EFAVI
FOR GENUINE ENTERTAINMENT
JASON DURALL
TECHNICAL A DVICE
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
BRIAN H ERBERT
CHRIS WEBB BYRON MERRITT
KEVIN J A NDERSON
A RT D I R E C T O R
THE HERBERT Modiphius Entertainment Ltd., 2nd Floor, 39 Harwood Rd,
KATYA THOMAS PROPERTIES TEAM London, SW6 4QP, United Kingdom

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COVER A RTIST PLAYTESTERS www.modiphius.net

Modiphius Entertainment Product Number: MUH052175

CARMEN ROB ARCANGELI, I AIN BELL ,
ISBN: 500-5-23344-23-9
CN
YX DEBELLEFEUILLE, G ARRETT
INTERIOR A RTISTS ROWE, K AYLA D UNAWAY, ROGER The 2d20 system and Modiphius Logos are copyright
ELLINGHAM, WESLEY GOODWIN , Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. 2020. All 2d20 system text is
IMAD A WAN , A VISHEK B ANERJEE , copyright Modiphius Entertainment Ltd. Any unauthorised use
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CARMEN C ORNET , R ILEY D ANNENBRING, used in a ctional manner; no infringement is intended. This is
ALEXANDER G UILLEN B ROX , V ICTOR STEPHANIE HOSTMAN, TAMRYN a work of ction. Any similarity with actual people and events,
HARMATIUK , A NTHONY J ONES , M USTAFA HOSTMAN, WILLIAM F F.. H OSTMAN past or present, is purely coincidental and unintentional except
for those people and events described in an historical context.
LAMRANI , D AMIEN M AMMOLITI, F ELIX MARI KOZLOWSKI, MARNEE MAROES,
ORTIZ, M IKHAIL P ALAMARCHUK , M IKHAIL JEN PARR , A NAND S INHA, J ORDAN Dune © 2022 Legendary. Dune: Adventures in the Imperium
is an ofcially sub-licensed property from Gale Force Nine, a
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Modiphius Logo which is © Modiphius Entertainment Lt d.
LIXIN Y IN , A MIR Z AND STEVE ZACCARDI

CHIEF FINANCIAL 3D DESIGNER 2D20 DEVELOPER OPERATIONS M AR KE TI NG

C RE A T I V E O F F I C E R CONTROLLER M AN AG ER C O O RD I NA T O R
JOANA ABBOTT NATHAN DOWDELL
CHRIS BIRCH LUC WOOLFENDEN BENN BEATON SHAUN HOCKING
L EA D G R A P H I C QA T E S T E R S
C H I E F O P E RA T I O NS P RO D UC T I O N DESIGNER F AC TO RY M AN AG ER CUSTOMER
OFFICER M AN AG ER DOMINIC WESTERLAND S UP P O RT
MICHAL E. C ROSS SAMANTHA LAYDON MARTIN JONES R E P RE S E NT A T I V E
RITA BIRCH PETER G ROCHULSKI NATHAN P ERRY
GRAPHIC S ENIOR CHRIS DANN
M AN AG IN G A RT D I R E C T O R S DESIGNERS SENIOR P RODUCTION
DIRECTOR P RO J E C T M AN AG ER O PERATIVE WEBSTORE
KATYA THOMAS CHRIS WEBB M AN AG ER
CAMERON DICKS KRIS AUBURN STEPHANIE TORO GAVIN DADY DREW COX
ROCIO MARTÍN PÉREZ GURUMENDI KYLE SHEPARD
H EA D OF P RO D UC T MARK W HITTINGTON P RO J E C T P RO D UC T I O N
S TU DI O M AN AG ER S O P E RA T I V E S D ATA A NA L Y S T
SAM WEBB C O O RD I NA T O R A U D I O AN D
V I D E O P RO D UC E R JAMES BARRY ALEX TAYLOR BENN GRAYBEATON
H EA D OF ROCIO MARTÍN PÉREZ CHRIS SHEPPERSON ANTHONY MORRIS
C REATIVE S ERVICES STEVE DALDRY DAVID HEXTALL BOOKKEEPER
L EA D 3 DD E S I G N E R A S S I S T A NT JOSHUA FROUD
JON WEBB DEVELOPMENT P RO J E C T LUKE GILL VALYA MKRTCHYAN
JONATHAN C O O RD I NA T O R M AN AG ER S THOMAS BULL
C RE A T I V E LATROBE-LEWIS
C O O RD I NA T O R JASON ENOS MATIAS TIMM C U S T O M E R S E RV I C E
SENIOR HARALAMPOS TSAKIRIS AN D A C C O U N T S
KIERAN S TREET 3D D E S I G N E R S DEVELOPERS M AN AG ER

CHRISTOPHER PEACEY ETHAN HEYWOOD LLOYD GYAN

DOMINGO DÍAZ FERMÍN JONO GREEN

 CONTENTS
Setting up the Game ......
................
.....................
......................
......................2
...........2 Scene 3: Questioning
Questioning Kira ...............
...............................
.........................
......... 58
A Note
Note for Experienced Ga
Gamemasters
memasters ....... .....................
.............. 2 Trial
Trial by Combat .......
.................
....................
...................
...................
....................
.......... 58
Adapting the A
Adventure
dventure ................
...............................
.............................
.............. 2 Kira Jaro ..........
....................
...................
...................
....................
....................
..................
........ 59
ACT I Single Combat ..........
...................
...................
....................
....................
..................
........ 60
ALLIES AND ENEMIES .........................7 Interrogating Kira Jaro ...........
....................
...................
....................
...............
..... 60
Act I, Part 1:
Shuttle Simulation ......................
.................................
......................
....................8
.........8
Scene 1: Seeking Discipline ................
...............................
........................
......... 8 Act II, Part 4 .....................
Assassination ................................
......................
......................
................62
.....62
Finding the Problem ..............
........................
...................
...................
.................
....... 9 Scene 1: Countess Nagara..................
Nagara.................................
......................
....... 62
Scene 2: From Hallway to Hallway ............... ...........................
............ 10
The Countess and the Baron........
Baron..................
....................
..................
........ 64
The First Crewmember...........
Crewmember..................... ...................
...................
...............
..... 10
Scene 2: On the Move ....... .................
...................
...................
....................
.......... 66
The Enemy Appears ... .............
....................
....................
....................
................
...... 12
Scene 3: The Engine Room .............. ..............................
.........................
......... 14 Scene 3: Heir of Nagara...................
Nagara...................................
.........................
......... 69
Jet Brake Workstation ..... ...............
....................
....................
....................
............ 15 Conclusion .........
...................
....................
...................
...................
....................
...............
..... 71
Jet Thruster Workstation ... .............
....................
...................
...................
.......... 16 ACT III
Cooling System Station.......... ....................
...................
...................
...............
..... 16 DESERT PLANET................................ 73
Altitude Meter Station..........
Station....................
....................
....................
................
...... 17 Act III, Part 1
Life Support Monitor Station..........
Station....................
....................
................
...... 17
The Universal Fulcrum .........................
......................
......................
................74
.....74
Success..........
....................
....................
....................
....................
...................
...................
.......... 18
Determination, Threat, and Momentum ............. ..................
..... 75
Failure ..........
...................
...................
....................
....................
....................
....................
............ 18
Scene 4: Debrieng ......... ...................
....................
....................
....................
............ 19 Scene 1: Arriving on Arrakis ...............
..............................
......................
....... 75
Non-player Characters..............
.............................
..............................
.................
.. 21 Scene 2: Arrakeen
Arrakeen Landing Field................
..............................
.............. 77
Niran Rani..................
............................
...................
...................
....................
..................
........ 21 Asham Perro...........................
....................................
...................
....................
...............
..... 77
Turo Imshel.........
...................
....................
....................
...................
...................
...............
..... 22 Scene 3: The Marketplace ...............
...............................
.........................
......... 80
Kornus Zaan ...................
............................
...................
....................
....................
.............
... 22 Scene 4: Death in Arrakeen .............................
............. .........................
......... 81
Act I, Part 2: Roj Varis...........
.....................
....................
....................
....................
...................
................
....... 84
Ground Training Exercises .......
..................
.....................
.....................23
...........23 Taras Nikula ..........
...................
...................
....................
....................
....................
.............
... 84
Scene 1: Setting Minds in Motion ..........................................
.............. 23 House Soldier.........................
..................................
...................
....................
...............
..... 85
Scene 2: Retrieval ...............
...............................
...............................
......................
....... 25 Fedaykin Fighters..............
........................
...................
...................
....................
.......... 85
Zone 1: The Perimeter .................
...........................
....................
..................
........ 26
Act III, Part 2
Zone 2: The Main Building ..........
....................
...................
...................
.......... 27
The Spice Will Flow ......................
.................................
......................
................86
.....86
Zone 3: Central Control ...............
.........................
....................
..................
........ 28
The Escape.................
...........................
....................
....................
....................
................
...... 29 Scene 1: The Politics of Prot .........
...................
....................
................
...... 86
Vadim Sareela
Sareela ......
...............
...................
....................
....................
....................
.............
... 87
Act I, Part 3
Ustad Turnan .........
...................
....................
....................
....................
...................
...........
.. 87
The True Task ...........................................................31
Scene 1: No More Practice (Interlude) ..............
.....................
....... 31 Informal Formalities ..........
....................
...................
...................
....................
.......... 88
Scene 2: Learn and Go..............
.............................
..............................
.................
.. 32 Qadira Lariel Narilan ..........
....................
....................
....................
..................
........ 88
Scene 3: Epilogue ...............
...............................
...............................
......................
....... 35 Cenric .........
...................
...................
...................
....................
....................
....................
.............
... 89
Scene 2: Taking Command ... ...................
...............................
...................
.... 91
Spice Harvesting Overview ............ ......................
...................
................
....... 92
ACT II
GAMES AND SCHEMES SCHEMES ..................... 37 Spice Harvesting in Detail ...............................
...................
....................
.......... 92
Act II, Part 1 Scene 3: “We Test Outsiders with Our Lives.
The Merchandise .....................
................................
.....................
.....................38
...........38 Do not Doubt our Conviction.”................ ..............................
.............. 94
Scene 1: The Messenger................
...............................
...........................
............ 38 Harun .........
...................
....................
....................
....................
....................
...................
...........
.. 97
Scene 2: Nagaran W Wares
ares................
...............................
...........................
............ 39 Scene 4: Wormsign ..............
.............................
..............................
......................
....... 97
Going to the Harkonnen Lab ........... ....................
...................
...............
..... 40 Scene 5: New T Techniques
echniques ..............
.............................
.........................
.......... 101
Going to their Own Lab ...............
.........................
....................
..................
........ 40 Scene 6: The Long Night ...............
..............................
.........................
.......... 102
Scene 3: Negotiation ................
...............................
..............................
.................
.. 40 Option A The Plaza of Sihaya.........
Sihaya...................
....................
..............
.... 102
Sabrya Zavr......
Zavr................
....................
...................
...................
....................
..................
........ 45 Option B The Street of Hawks .................
...........................
..............
.... 103
Act II, Part 2 Musa.........
...................
....................
....................
...................
...................
....................
.............
... 104
Harkonnen Management............
.......................
......................
..................46
.......46
Act III, Part 3
Scene 1:
1: Swor
Swordd and Shield ..............
..............................
.........................
......... 46
Scene 2: Rebellion...............
...............................
...............................
......................
....... 49 Awakening ...........
......................
......................
......................
......................
................106
.....106
Scene 3: Factory Conict .........
...................
....................
....................
.............
... 50 Scene 1: Stolen Technology .............
.............................
.......................
....... 106
Scene 4: Return to Barony ...............
...............................
.........................
......... 54 Scene 2: “I take what is mine”...............
..............................
.................
.. 107
Act II, Part 3 Smugglers ..........
....................
....................
...................
...................
....................
.............
... 108
Sabotage ......................
.................................
......................
.....................
.....................55
...........55 Scene 3: “Enemies Strengthen You.
Scene 1: Mining, Melange, and Malfunctions .......... 55 Allies Weaken.” ..............
.............................
...............................
.......................
....... 109
Scene 2:
2: Sear
Searching
ching for Sabotage..................
Sabotage..............................
............ 56 Scene 4: Vengeance!................
...............................
..............................
............... 113
Dealing with Kira Jaro ............
......................
...................
...................
...............
..... 57 Spice Reckoning...........
.....................
...................
...................
....................
.............
... 115

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 1
In this section of each
page we’ll offer extra
SETTING UP THE GAME
help to the gamemaster This game is designed to let you play out of the box right now. So before you go any
with hints and tips. further,, gather together a group of up to six people and then carry on as instructed.
further
Before reading this book you should begin by reading the Countess’ letter to set the
RULES SIDEBAR
scene (“Read this rst”). Follow the instructions there, where you will choose who among
This type of
you will be the gamemaster,
gamemaster, then continue with this book.
box offers rules
advice. Usually a @ Each of the players should choose one of the Five characters to play.
quick summary of a new
rule so you don’t need to @ The box and all the other components should remain with the gamemaster. We’ll
instruct you when to reveal each item, so resist the temptation to have a look through
look through the book to
them now, you’ll spoil the surprise.
nd it.
The role of gamemaster and which character each person plays will be xed from this
SETTING SIDEBAR point on, so make sure everyone is happy with their choices. The gamemaster will be
This type of box reading the adventure and offering the players choices as they come up.
offers extra detail
From there, just begin reading aloud the highlighted boxed text as directed. Anything
on the world of
not highlighted is an instruction to the gamemaster alone which they should read to
Dune. These notes will
themselves as they go and follow those instructions. Don’t worry if it all looks quite daunt-
expand and explain some
ing, we’ll explain everything step by step.
of the new culture and
technology, but they are
not essential to running
GAMEMASTERS
A NOTE FOR EXPERIENCED GAMEMASTERS
the adventure.
This adventure is designed to teach the gamemaster and players how to play Dune:
DIRECTION SIDEBAR Adventures
Adventur es in th
the
e Imperium
Imperium as they go. But if you are already familiar with the rules
you may wish to skip over some of these instructions and run things a little differently
differently..
This type of box
You
You may even wiswishh to create your own characters aand
nd House to play this adventure
is arguably the
(details of which are in the Core Rulebook).
most important.
Here you will see notes for In that case, you can read the whole adventure beforehand and run it the way that
when to present cards and suits you best. To
To help facilitate this we have added a synopsis and objectives for
handouts to the players each part of the adventure so the key points stand out. However
However,, you can still run the
and what components you adventure as it is presented with your own House and characters. YouYou should decide if
will need for particular your House is a Military, Scientic, Farming, Espionage, or Industrial House and what
scenes. they might have to negotiate with. Then just change the names as required as you go.
If you don’t see one of If you want to scan ahead for the main points of the adventure, just read the synopsis
these boxes on a page of each scene and its objectives to get the broad picture.
you will know you don’t

need
thing to
butworry about
reading theany-
text ADAPTING
If THEthis
you want to adapt ADVENTURE
adventure to a more usual campaign where your characters
and making dice rolls. are not taking over Arrakis completely, you can also scale this adventure down. In
this case the player characters’ House is about to take over a large, franchised spice
harvesting operation on Arrakis under the Harkonnen governorship.
House Harkonnen has been ordered to allow this by the Emperor who wants to break
up their power a little. The Harkonnen have been forced to train the player charac-
ters to ensure they can be trusted with the operation. T
Too the Harkonnen a few minor
franchises are ne, but the player characters’ House is taking quite a large piece of
Arrakis. So House Harkonnen is looking to destroy the reputation of the player charac-
ters’ House and get them removed from Dune so they can take back all spice produc-
tion for themselves.
So, essentially, all the gamemaster need do is adapt the scale of what’s at stake and
carry on as directed. While the rights to a lucrative spice mining operation are not
as important as the governorship of Arrakis, the Harkonnens are not ones to let any
power or wealth slip from their grasp.

2
Read aloud:
In the feudal Imperium of the Dune universe, power and rulership rests in the hands of titled noble
families (or ’Houses’) who rule under the Emperor of the Known Universe. Some of these noble Houses
can trace their lineage back thousands of years. The most powerful of these Houses each rule a planet,
or even more than one. YourYour characters belong to one such noble House. In fact, some of your characters
are the heirs to its vast power and fortune.
So, before we begin the adventure, we need to discover a little more about your House — House
Nagara.

Each House Major of the Imperium is known as a leader in something in particular.

particular. It might be a type of
technology,, a school for training or philosophy
technology philosophy,, even an especially useful farm crop.
In the case of House Nagara, it is a powerful and unique piece of technology which will become impor-
tant in the second act of the adventure. However, you can pick what that technology might be from the
following list. Remember that what you pick will inform a lot of the style of your House. If it is a weapon,
your House will likely by dominated by the military, a new farming machine suggests a House of either
farmers or machinists. The option you pick will also decide on the general style of your House and how
they tend to go about dealing with problems and advancing their agenda.

The gamemaster should read out the descriptions below of each of the following devices and what picking it will
mean for the type of House that House Nagara will be. They should then allow the players to choose which one
they want for their vision of House Nagara.
THE NAGARA MAULA RIFLE

An advanced
most standardmodel of spring-loaded projectile weapon with greater power and a longer range than
models.
@ Picking this option makes you a Military House, with a strong warrior tradition and code of conduct.
You
You also have a dedicated and well-trained army and you
you rely on strength
strength of arms to advance
advance your
House.

THE ALITHIASCOPE
A device designed to separate and identify chemicals with incredible efciency and accuracy.
@ Picking this option makes you a Scientic House, with a commitment to learning and developing
new technology. You also have several expert research teams and you rely on knowledge and
understanding to advance your House.

THE BLIGHT SCANNER

A device that detects the rst signs of blight and insects over a large area, helping farmers save their
crops.
@ Picking this option makes you a Farming House, with a beautiful pastoral planet and a dedicated
workforce. As you export food to hundreds of different planets you tend to advance your House by
leveraging the small but important details others often forget.

THE NIGHTSHADE
A new form of oil lens that lets the user see so clearly in even pitch darkness they can perceive the minu-
tiae of facial expressions. It can be used for weapon targeting or general surveillance.
@ Picking this option makes you an Espionage House, who are likely to deal with problems in an
underhanded manner that avoids direct confrontation and may ignore conventional morality.
morality. You
have several skilled assassins under your command and tend to rely on stealth and secrecy to
advance your House.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 3
 OMNIGENERATOR
This large box is a new form of power cell that delivers far more energy than its size
suggests, allowing it to power whole factories.
@ Picking this option makes you an Industrial House, with a vast array of factories
producing all manner of goods you sell across the universe. You have several teams
of craftsmen and can usually nd a way to provide whatever anyone needs. You
tend to rely on the art of the deal to advance your House, always ensuring you get
the better end of any negotiation.

Take the Take a moment to discuss which one to choose between you.
appropriate
card for the
Read aloud:
technology the players
choose and hand it to Now we’re going to take a look at the characters you have each chosen and why they
them. Remove the other are on this mission. You
You have all travelled to the polluted and industrial homeworld of
technology cards they House Harkonnen, Giedi Prime. Here the Harkonnens are to train you and test you to
did not choose from the make sure you are ready to take over the spice mining operation on Arrakis.
game.
You
You have already learned much, building on on the levels you already
already have in the ve
skills: Battle, Communicate, Discipline, Move, and Understand. For some of these
skills you have gained extra specialist knowledge in the form of Focuses.
But we will begin by looking at the Drives: Duty, Faith, Justice, Power, and Truth. Your
character will have a rating of 4–8 in each of these Drives. The highest (your 8) tells you what

your attitude to the training is and how you intend to serve your House on Giedi Prime.
Duty focuses mainly on your duty to your House. But some characters, like members
of the Bene Gesserit, have deep loyalties to the factions that trained them as well. A
dutiful character puts their responsibilities above themselves.
If Duty is your highest Drive you are training because it is what your House has
ordered you to do. You don’t consider your personal feelings relevant. You plan to
excel because that is what your House needs you to do.
Faith focuses on instinct and your trust in others. It often covers religious dedication but
even an atheist can have a high Faith if they are willing to put their lives in the hands of
their friends.
If Faith is your highest Drive you are training because you want to help the rest of
the player characters. You plan to offer whatever back up or leadership is needed
for the sake of the team.
Justice focuses on what is right. It is about getting what you are owed and ensuring
others pay their dues.
If Justice is your highest Drive you are training because it is simply the right thing to
do. When fully trained you will be in a better position to run Arrakis the right way.
Power focuses on taking control and being the best. It need not always be selsh as
what you do with that power is always up to you. Many people ght for power just to
protect themselves, even though many just want to conquer.
If Power is your highest Drive you are training so you can be the best. You
You will
need to be equipped in mind as well as body to make the best of what is ahead.
Truth focuses on what is real and what is hidden. While it is rarely comfortable, those
who seek it would rather the pain of knowing than the emptiness of ignorance.
If Truth is your highest Drive you are training to nd out what is really going on. There is
always another piece of the puzzle, and perhaps on Giedi Prime you can put a few more
pieces together.

4
Each of your three highest Drives also has an associated Drive Statement. This details a truth your
character focuses on in their life. We will explain more about how Drive Statements can be useful later.
Some elements of the character sheets are not explained yet. Don’t worry, as they will be explained when
they are introduced in the context of the adventure.
Now you all know more about your characters, each of you should introduce yourself to the group. You
You
might tell each other in your own words any of the following:
@ What is the most obvious thing about you that everyone knows?

@ What is your general attitude and how do you carry yourself?

@ What are you especially good at (skills)?
@ What is your most important Drive and how has it shaped your attitude to the training?
6
 ACT ONE:

ALLIES AND ENEMIES

“When I am weaker than you, I ask you for freedom because that is according to your
principles; when I am stronger than you, I take away your freedom because that is
according to my principles.”

—Words of an ancient philosopher (attributed by Harq al-Ada to one Louis Veuillot)

AG
AG
A EN
GE NT
TSS O
OFF D
DUUN
NEE // C
CAAM
MPPA
A II G
GNN S
SEET
T 7
 A C T I , P A RT �
SHUTTLE SIMULATION
In this scene the player characters must try and save them- Objectives:
selves when their shuttle suffers a critical failure and starts to @ Introduce the players to the main parties of the

crash. There are also enemy agents on board to deal with. adventure — Nagara, Harkonnen, Vernius.
Thankfully, it is all part of a training simulation. @ Introduce the functions and potential capabilities of

the player characters.

@ Introduce basic rules, one step at a time.
@ Instill in the characters some trust of their Harkonnen
allies as knowledgeable and helpful. See Trusting the
Harkonnen (page 19) if this might be a problem.

SCENE :
SEEKING DISCIPLINE
Read aloud:

Now that you have your characters sorted, we can begin the actual game itself. You
You are playing the
protagonists,, the main characters, and I am the gamemaster
protagonists gamemaster.. Remember that I am not playing against
you, and this game is not about winning or losing. As gamemaster, I guide you through this adventure
by playing everyone you meet, describing the scenes for your characters, and interpreting the rules. It is
my job to be neutral, fair,
fair, and to help us tell a great story together
together..

The dark, smoky reds and grays of the planet Giedi Prime’s
Prime’s atmosphere look like a roiling storm of ash
and blood, looming large and omnipresent below you and through the viewports of your shuttle.

The shuttle lights ash red again, and for a moment, all is stillness, before the world around you jerks
and quakes from simulated damage. Even though you know this is just a drill, the blare of the alarm and
the sudden lurch of your ship feel all too real.
You
You focus on the task ahead, remembering
remembering your mentors’
mentors’ instructions:
“Your shuttle is under attack, your crew in danger. Whoever is attacking, they know
“Your kno w who you are and
what your lives are worth. Your only chance to survive is to nd what is wrong with the ship and x it. If
you can’t x it, you must evacuate.
“Along the way, you may nd crewmates able to
t o be saved… or enemies to be confronted. Take them

as
youyou
canencounter
but keep them: some
your goal in you can
mind: interact
the with,be
ship must while
xedothers
beforeare
it behaving as ifAbove
is destroyed. dead. all,
Save who
remember
you are House Nagara, and your line must survive, even if you are the only ones on the shuttle to do
so.”
“This exercise ends in one of three ways: when you x the shuttle; when, after failing to x the shuttle,
you successfully evacuate, or when all heirs of
o f House Nagara are eliminated, either through failing to
escape the shuttle or through enemy confrontation.”
You
Y ou are on the bridge,
bridge, which is where you usually
usually nd yourself when
when you travel. Your
Your family prides
itself on its competence, so you know that there are several control panels here which, when accessed,
will help you gure out where the problem is. However,
However, most of the systems will probably need to be
repaired in the engineering section, so you might go there rst.
What do you do? Try and nd the problem from the bridge or make your way to engineering? If it all
sounds too difcult you might just make your way to the escape pods right now!

8
FINDING THE PROBLEM THINKING MACHINES
In the Dune uni-
If a character opts to try and nd out what is wrong from the bridge read the following aloud
verse, computers
(if they go to engineering skip to the next section, but return here when you make your rst
the way we know
dice test as this is where we detail the basics):
them are banned, forbid-
To access the control panels and analyze where the ship’s damage is, I’m going to den technology. Many
have you roll an Understand test. The Understand skill represents your ability to take millennia ago, before the
in and process information. It also covers intuition and deduction, as well as your Imperium was founded,
understanding of academic, technical, or scientic knowledge. incredibly powerful arti-
arti-
cial intelligences, ’thinking
All skill tests use a Drive and a Skill. The skill here will be Understand. For all the tests machines’, waged a dev-
in this part of the adventure we’ll be using your best Drive (8) as that is the one you
astating war upon human-
have focused on in your training.
kind and were nearly
To roll add your Understand skill level (noted on your character sheet) to 8 — the victorious. The battle was
Drive you are using. This total is called the target number.
number. won, but at great cost.
Humankind swore to
To succeed, you will need to roll two twenty-sided dice and try to get under or equal
never allow this to happen
to that number on either dice. Do not add them together.
together.
again and banned the
The players should pick one of their characters to make the test, ideally the one with manufacture of devices
the best Understand skill. That player takes two of the twenty-sided dice (d20s) and that approximated human
rolls them. thought. This prohibition
has stood for more than
10,000 years.
If at least one of the dice rolls a number equal to or less than the target number, the roll
is a success! The character discovers where the issue is. Read aloud: Thus, technology as
sophisticated as comput-
With a few expert taps, you quickly access the ship’
ship’ss system reports. Scanning
ers do not exist in the
through the data that scrolls past, your eye catches something that seems ’off’ —
Imperium, and nearly all
an error sourcing from somewhere in the engine room. It looks like at least ve
electronic devices have
different systems are all failing. Adrenaline rushes through you as you announce
limited controls and can
that you now know where you need to go: the engine room!
only carry out the more
direct of instructions,
If both dice roll a number higher than the target number, the player has failed the roll. deliberately prohibited
Read the following aloud to them: from interpreting data,
making any decisions, or
Stubborn machinery. You
You access the nearest control panel, but there is too much
carrying out any independ-
information in the readout to choose from. You’re
You’re not sure which of the many
ent task. Operating one
ship systems might be faulting, or which to examine that would help you get a
of these devices requires
reliable answer about what’s
what’s going wrong. Maybe someone else can try?
considerable expertise,

A
so.different character can attempt the test but only one that has not already done and
ized for this reason
technicians andspecial-
engi-
neers are highly sought by
most Houses.
If everyone tries and fails or they decide to give up and go to the engine room read aloud:
Frustrated by your inability to read the control panels, you start to discuss your
other options. If there is something endangering the ship, you are likely going to
nd your fastest answers in the engine room. You
You decide to check it out. Give the players
the card ’Failed
to Locate the
If the characters try to head straight to the evacuation pods without trying to x the ship,
Problems’.
read the following:
You make to leave
You leave the bridge and get
get to the evacuation pods,
pods, but your mentors’
mentors’
instructions give you pause. Today’s mission is to repair the ship. Escape is only
an option if you can’t solve the problem. If you don’t at least try, you know there
will be a price to pay, so you resign yourself to nishing the mission as intended.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 9
 SCENE 2:
F R O M H A L L WA Y T O H A L L WA
WAYY
When the characters leave the bridge read the following aloud:

With your destination in mind, you make sure you have everything you need from
the bridge and head towards the engine room. The periodic red ash of the shuttle’
shuttle’ss
warning lights are constant reminders that your time is limited — and as though to
prove you right, the shuttle jerks under your feet from more simulated damage.

You need to get to the engine room as soon as possible.

You
Normally you wouldn’t need to roll for walking from one place to the other
other,, but
you’re dealing with the sudden jolt and lurch of the shuttle. This calls for a Move test
from all of you. The Move skill represents your mobility, how quickly or carefully you
maneuver around the environment, and your ability to overcome physical obstacles.
To make a Move test, just like before, add up the score from your Drive (8) and the
score for your Move skill to get your target number. To succeed, you will need to roll
under or equal to that number on at least one of your two dice.

If at least one of the dice rolls a number equal to or less than the target number, the roll
is a success! Read the following aloud to any player who succeeded:
The chaotic jerk of the shuttle might throw lesser teams, but you are determined.
You
You skillfully lead your
your team away from
from the bridge and
and down multiple hallways. You
You
remember the fastest way to the engine room, and are taking that path, when your
team notices something…

If both dice roll a number higher than the target number, the player has failed the roll.
Read the following aloud to them:
You tho
You though
ughtt that
that you cou
could
ld nd the eas
easies
iestt way
way to the eng
engine
ine ro
room,
om, but jus
justt at
at the
the wr
wrong
ong
time, the ship makes a horrible, wheezing sound. Your Your stomach drops for just a moment as
a jolt knocks the ship — and you — to the side. You’reYou’re fast enough to right yourself quickly,
quickly,
but it’s
it’s thrown you off a bit. In hindsight, you probably could have taken a different turn and
Give any player saved some time. As you move to correct your path, your team comes upon something…
who failed a
’Shaken’ card
THE FIRST CREWMEMBER
from the deck.
Read aloud:
They MUST return it to
you the next time they As you turn the next corner, steadying your feet from another jarring blast that
make a test, but for that rocks the shuttle, your eyes land on two of the shuttle’
shuttle’ss crew. One is on the ground,
test the Difculty will be motionless in an impression of death. The other, a young man, is pounding on
one higher. the windowplaz of a door. Hearing you approach, he whirls with a yelp of surprise.
“Help,” he begs you. “My friend is in there and the door is jammed!”
DIFFICULTY
If you stay and help rescue the trapped crewmember, it might put your mission at jeop-
The amount of
ardy. It will be a challenging task as the door is wedged shut, so you are going to need to
successes you
get a success on both dice. This is called Difculty. Since you need two successes, that
need to gain from
makes this a Difculty 2 skill test.
your dice in a test to suc-
ceed in your task. It will take dedication and concentration to get the door open in all this chaos. To
rescue the crewmember you must make a Discipline skill test. Roll the same way you
CRITICAL SUCCESS did before, adding your usual Drive and your Discipline Skill together to get your
If a die rolls a 1 it target number. You still need to roll under or equal to that number. Only this time,
counts as 2 suc- you need both dice to roll a success.
cesses instead of
However, if you are lucky and roll a 1, that dice will count as two successes, regardless
However,
just 1.
of what the target number is.

10
 Another way to get extra successes is Assistance. This is where another player on ASSISTANCE
ASSISTANCE
your team actively helps your character
character.. Each helper uses the same skill to make their Roll 1d20 and
own target number (with their Drive of 8) based on how they are assisting, and they add your suc-
roll only one d20. So long as the player rolling the original skill test gets at least one cesses to the
success on their own, any successes the assistants generate count towards towards the roll active character’s result as
— which is to say
say,, if they fail, then the assistants fail too, and may suffer some of the long as they score at least
same consequences for failing! one success.
So, having reviewed that, let’s return to the scene.

With the frantic crewmember begging for your help, you know you have several
options. You could stay and help rescue the second crewmember, understanding that
it might put your mission at risk. You could order the rst crewmember to get to the
evacuation pods, effectively pulling rank and ordering him to safety
safety.. You could even
ignore his cries and keep going — keeping your mission rst and foremost in your
mind at all costs.
What do you do? Try to save the crewmember
crewmember,, leave them, or help one of the other
players save them?

@ If the characters help the crewmember, read the following aloud to them: LASER WEAPONS
(LASGUNS)
The mission is important, but so are lives. You
You can see where the door to the
This universe is
adjoining room has been damaged, and you think that with the crewmember’s
one where space
help, you can get it open and save his friend.
travel is a reality
Doing this requires a Discipline test, since that skill also deals with overcoming and society has survived
physical obstacles. This will be a Difculty 2 Discipline test, meaning you need the rise and fall of think-
two successes. If anyone wants to assist, tell me how your character helps to get ing machines. Items like
the door open. It might be brute strength or perhaps you nd a lever. lasguns do exist in this
time and are used among
@ If there are two or more successes in total, read the following aloud to them: the elites within the
Imperium. However, the
Y
You
ou all manage to work around
around the damage to the door,
door, and with an
an angry
beam of a lasgun, com-
shriek and a bang, it nally opens just enough to let the other crewman slip
bined with the energy of
out safely! Just as they reach safety the room is engulfed in an explosion.
a personal shield, creates
You order them to get to the evacuation
You evacuation pods, keeping
keeping an eye out for any a reaction like that of a
other survivors along the way. They give you a hearty salute and speed down nuclear explosion, killing
a corridor and out of sight with a nal cry of thanks echoing behind them. far more than just the one
intended target as well
You
You feel good about that. Energized,
Energized, you continue
continue towards the engine room.
as the user of the lasgun.
@ If there are no successes or only one success rolled, the test has failed. Read aloud: Due to the prevalence of
personal shields, use of
Try as you might, the door is far too damaged for even you to open. You lasguns in warfare became
and the crewmember try multiple times, but to no avail. The crewmember widely banned among the
slams on the windowplaz again, but to no avail. As you watch in horror an Houses.
explosion rips a hole in the side of the shuttle and the crewmember inside
This collateral damage is
the room is torn out of the shuttle. You order the other crewmember to the
so great that it is explic-
evacuation pods and with resignation born of despair he obeys.
itly prohibited in warfare
throughout the Imperium.
@ If the characters do not help the crewmember, read the following aloud to them:
No self-respecting House
The mission must come rst. Fixing the ship will save far more lives than those would ever stoop to inten-
two. Time is of the essence! You
You order the crewmember to leave his friend and tionally using this deadly
get to the evacuation pods, perhaps saving at least one life. He ignores you, and combination, as it would
the sound of his st slamming the windowplaz and yelling for help echo behind be disastrous, not only
you as you continue down the corridor.
corridor. There is a sickening thud as an explosion for the victims but for the
rocks the ship, and the crewman’s shouts are suddenly silenced. You steadfastly status and well-being of
continue to make your way to the engine room. the involved House.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 11
PERSONAL SHIELD THE ENEMY APPEARS
A personal force
After the situation with the rst crewmember has been resolved, read aloud:
eld projected
from a small The sound of a struggle meets your ears as you grow closer to your goal. Making the
device ususally worn turn into the nal corridor,
corridor, you see one of your crew in a hand-to-hand battle with
on the wrist or belt. It is a man in a red uniform — one of your enemies in this simulation. Shields ash as
impervious to fast-moving blades ricochet off them. You
You remember that, in this simulation, your shuttle has been
objects, but can be boarded, likely by an enemy of your House!
penetrated by a weapon
With good timing, the crewmember lands a nal blow on the enemy, a slow cut that
moving slowly enough.
This is a manifestation penetrates their personal shield — in essence, tagging them out of the simulation. The
red-clad enemy falls to the ground, feigning death, and your ally leans heavily against
of the Holtzmann Effect
the wall, panting heavily and obviously favoring one leg. She stares at you, fear in her
which is used in several
eyes.
advanced technologies.
“I’m wounded and there are more coming!” she breathes. “Get me out of here, please!”
MOMENTUM
You know that your time grows shorter with every stop
You stop you make. ItIt will be difcult
Add a point to
but not impossible to help the injured crewmember.
crewmember. However,
However, this will be a much
the Momentum
trickier test, and you will need three successes to continue! Before you decide what
pool for each
to do, let me quickly talk to you all about Momentum.
success you get on a test
above the required Dif- Whenever you score more successes than you needed on a skill test, each extra suc-
culty. cess becomes a point of Momentum. The result of the dice roll doesn’t matter, only
that it was an extra success. Any Momentum you earn goes into a group ’pool’ that
Momentum can buy extra
anyone can use.
dice for your pool. The
rst costs 1 Momentum, Up to six Momentum can be saved in the pool at the same time, but never more. It
the second 2 Momentum can be used for several things, most importantly for now, buying extra dice for skill
and the third 3 Momen- tests. At the end of a scene, one Momentum from the pool is lost, so it’s in your best
tum. interests to spend it instead of hoarding it.
Spending Momentum happens before you make your roll, but after you know the
Difculty.. The cost increases for each die you buy: the rst extra die costs one
Difculty
Reveal the
Momentum, the second costs two Momentum, and the third costs three. No more
Momentum and
than three bonus d20s may be bought for a single skill test, and you can never roll
Threat tracker
more than 5d20 for a single test.
card and place it on the
table. Take the Mometum Also important to note is that when other players are assisting, they cannot buy extra
tokens from the box and dice. They are each only allowed the one d20 to help, though the player actually roll-
put the six Momentum ing the skill test can buy Momentum for themselves.
tokens into the Momen-
Since we’re just starting out, I’m going to give you a full pool — six Momentum — to
tum poolDon’t
players. spaces for the
worry about help you out. You don’t have to use any, or you could use them all, and every extra
success you get will help to rell that pool.
Threat, we’ll come back to
that later. Another way to gain more successes is by using a Focus. A Focus is a specialty area
you have for a particular skill. If you are a skilled knife ghter, you might have a Battle
Once a test is completed
Focus of ’Short Blades’. If you don’t have the Focus it doesn’t mean you can’t use a
the Momentum pool is
knife, it just means you are no better at using it than any other weapon.
reduced to a maximum
of 6. If a Focus can be applied to a test (for instance, you are ghting with a knife and have the
Short Blades Focus) the chance for a critical success is greatly improved. Instead of scor-
FOCUS ing a critical success (two successes instead of one) for every die that rolls a 1, you score a
Score a critical critical success for every die that rolls equal to or less than the skill you are using.
success (two suc-
You will
You will have four Focu
Focuses
ses for your char
characte
acterr, and
and while
while mos
mostt tend
tend to
to apply
apply to a particu
particular
lar
cesses) for any die
skill, they can apply to any test if they are appropriate regardless of the skill being used.
that rolls equal to or less

than yourOnly
applies. skillone
if theFocus
Focus So,
andnow thatexist,
Assists you can
whatbuy
do extra d20s
you do? withcrewmember
Your Momentum,isand remembering
hurt, but it will bethat Focus
tricky to
may apply to any test. get her to safety without losing precious time.

12
@ If the players decide to help the crewmember, read the following:
The crewmember is hurt and will be easily overtaken by the raiders if you leave
her alone. You could take her to the evacuation pods yourself, though that will
impact your time in the engine room. The alternative is to buy them some time
by facing down whatever enemy is coming. How do you want to do this?

@ If the characters take the crewmember to the evacuation pods read the following:
To help the crewman to the evacuation pods you will need to make a Move test,
with a Difculty of 3. Remember you can buy extra dice with Momentum and a
focus such as Grace or Swift might apply and grant extra successes. You
You can still try
and assist each other, too. The challenge here represents getting them to safety
and returning with enough time to still try to x the problem in the engine room.

@ If there are three successes , read the following aloud to them:

If you want something done right, do it yourself. You know the ins and outs
of the ship like the back of your hand. Going as quickly as possible, you
help the crewmember to the evacuation pods. Along the way, you nimbly
evade an enemy raider as they run by. You may have lost some time, but
not much, and after evading another enemy raider you nd yourselves at
the engine room at last. (Move to Scene 3, The Engine Room.)

@ If there are two or fewer successes , read the following aloud:

Slipping from corridor to corridor you help the injured crewmember to

the evacuation pods. But maybe you are feeling a little too pleased with
yourselves as you make your way to the engine room, and straight into
the path of a grinning red uniformed raider. The dull-edged blade in
his hand is a weapon for practice, but threatening, nonetheless. He’d
have made short work of the lone, injured crewperson, but you are much
healthier,, hardier opponents. (The players must ’Face the Attacker’ as
healthier
detailed below.)

@ If the characters must ’Face the Attacker’ read the following:

You
You rea
ready
dy you
yourse
rself
lf for a ght
ght as a mask
masked
ed as
assai
sailan
lantt rush
rushes
es tow
towar
ards
ds you wit
with
h
a weapon he looks intent on using on you. You will have to defeat him in
a Battle test. Remember you can buy extra dice with Momentum and a
Focus might grant extra successes. You You can still try and assist each other

too. To use
To
the right a Focus
type. inyou
Unless the have
ght something
you will need toto
else behand
wielding a weapon
this will of a
either be
knife (Short Blades) or your bare sts (Unarmed Combat).
As you are facing a skilled opponent, not a static problem, ghting the
raider is a new type of test called a Contested Test. In this roll you don’t CONTESTED TEST
justt try
jus try to bea
beatt a set Dif
Difcu
culty
lty,, but
but one set by the ski
skillll of you
yourr oppo
opponen
nent.
t. Instead of a set
Difculty, the
To set the Difculty of the Battle test the gamemaster should roll the skill defender makes
of the raider. He has a target number of 13, but as he is enraged and we a skill test and the amount
haven’t covered Threat yet (see later) the gamemaster can roll four dice for of successes they get is
this test rather than the usual two. Count the successes he gets (he has no considered the Difculty
Focus to apply but a 1 is still a critical). of the test for the acting
character.
The amount of successes the raider gets is the Difculty the players must
roll against. Tell the players what this Difculty level is and all of them must
make Battle tests to try and beat it. Any character may assist another
instead of making a test themselves, but the result will be applied to them
as well. Remind the players they can spend Momentum if they wish, or
save it for later.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 13
 If one or more player characters succeeds in beating the assailant’s Dif-
Dif -
culty, they dispatch the raider and can continue to the engine room. Any
character that fails the test should be given a ’Shaken’ card they must
must
use on their next test to represent an injury they suffer in the ght. If all
the characters fail the test they must repeat the roll (with a new roll from
Give a ’Shaken’ the raider to set the Difculty) before they can continue.
card to any player
@ If the players don’t help the crewmember, read the following:
who failed the
Battle test. The door to the engine room is right there. You have a mission to fulll, and it
would take too much time to get them to safety and return here. You quickly
explain your position and order her to try to evacuate herself.
She seems to understand and moves to comply
comply.. Unfortunately,
Unfortunately, she underes-
timated how hurt she was; as she tries to put weight on her leg, you watch as
she yells out and collapses under the pain. You hear another enemy quickly
approaching, drawn by the sound of the crew’s agonized groan. You steel your-
self for the confrontation as another red-clad enemy bears down on you.

If your players want more of a ght, replay the contested test above with a new assailant,
possibly even more than one. However, those who don’t want to ght can slip into the engine
room and lock the door closed behind them.
This is the end of this scene. Remember to remove one Momentum from the pool.

SCENE :

THE ENGINE ROOM

When the players enter the engine room, read the following aloud:
At last, you’ve reached your goal! You remember the ambience of this room. It
thrummed with life in a sound that was almost a harmony
har mony with itself. You always
thought it was reassuring, like a heartbeat, letting you know the ship is healthy and
well-functioning. This is not the sound that greets you, though. There is denitely
something amiss here; there is a rasping, off-beat sound where there shouldn’t be,
there is silence where there should be a low, purring hum.
Your
Your mentors really
really set a challenge for you! As though
though to remind you
you of the severity
of the situation, as well as the time you took in getting here, the lights icker for one
moment, and the shuttle jerks violently to the side, nearly knocking you off balance.
It’s just you and multiple workstations. Here’s what you’re going to need to do:
There are ve workstations important to your task. Moving from one station to t o the
other is a Move skill test with a Difculty of 1. Success lets you continue to the next
step, but failure means the gamemaster gains a Threat token (which we’ll detail next).
Once you are at a station, you need to gure out what is wrong at that station and
succe ed at an Understand test with variable Difculty
repair it. To do so, you need to succeed
depending on the station in question. Focuses such as Advanced Technology or Com-
posure might help. Now, here’s the tricky part: while each player character has a chance
THREAT
to try to x each workstation once, if two player characters fail at xing the same work-
work-
Momentum for
station, that workstation is too damaged to repair and no one can make any further
the gamemaster.
attempts to do so. One character can assist another for any attempt, but only one.
Can be used to
buy extra dice for non- @ If you succeed at xing three stations, you’ll x the ship.
player characters in the
@ If you fail to x too many and run out of workstations before you x the ship ,
same way. Players can add
to the Threat pool instead you’ll have to evacuate.
of spending Momentum. Since we’re about to head into some more complicated tests, let me explain another
The Threat pool has no way that you can get extra dice to roll: Threat.
upper limit.

14
 If you don’t have any Momentum to spend, you can buy extra dice directly from the gamemaster
gamemaster,, by
giving me one Threat for every Momentum you would have spent to buy dice. Basically, Threat is the
gamemaster’s version of Momentum. When you give the gamemaster Threat, I can use it to buy d20s for
any gamemaster characters, increase the Difculty of future tests, introduce environmental effects, and so
on. Like Momentum, these
th ese uses are listed on the Momentum/Threat tracker
track er.. To
To make things interesting
i nteresting
we’ll add four Threat tokens to the Threat pool to get the gamemaster started. Be careful though, unlike the
Momentum pool, the Threat pool has no upper limit.
The Threat/Momentum tracker details the uses of Threat but for this next scene the most useful is that
two Threat can be spent to increase a Difculty by 1.The gamemaster should ideally improvise an
explanation as to what has happened to make things harder.
harder. It might be an injury, a faulty tool or compo-
nent, the shuttle shaking or perhaps smoke and steam making it hard to see.
Just as spending Momentum lets you do cool things or be better at succeeding, spending Threat lets the
gamemaster throw more cool things at you to overcome, and make things more challenging, so you’ll feel a
sense of accomplishment when you succeed.
That’s enough on Threat for now, you have a shuttle to x and there is no time for idle chatter! What are
That’s
each of you going to try and x rst, and who, if anyone, will assist?

In this scene the players can choose to go where they want, in any order. The options are listed here, so just
allow them to work through them in any order. However, make sure everyone gets a turn, so go round each
player in turn to make sure they get an opportunity to act or assist. Anyone making or assisting that test must
be at the same workstation.
Use a pen to tick the ’xed’ box by each workstation when it is repaired. Put a cross in the failed boxes for each
failed test. If both failed boxes have crosses, cross out the workstation title as it can no longer be repaired.
Keep the drama going — if the players have succeeded at two out of three tests, remember you can spend your
Threat to make the ship start to buckle and spark with explosions, making things harder!

JET BRAKE WORKSTATION

You know exactly which
You which diagnostic tests
tests will help you gure this station
station out. You
You can see that the jet Fixed
brakes are pulling power from the wrong source. That would shut down two other systems whenever you
tried to land! That’s no good. Time to x it!
Failed

UNDERSTAND TEST, DIFFICULTY 2

@ Success: Read aloud:

Easy. You reallocate the power so that the jet brakes will work properly. Here’s hoping the rest are as easy!

@ Fail: Read aloud:

Y
You
ou try to reallocate
reallocate the power to where you know
know it should be,
be, but every time you execute
execute the com-
mand, something in the system denies you and errors out. It’s
It’s not behaving the way it should.
Time is too short to linger here: you’ll have to try to x a different station.

@ If two attempts to x this workstation fail: Read the following aloud:

You
You run diagnostic
diagnostic after diagnostic, but whatever is troubling
troubling this station
station is too subtle to be picked
up. In exasperation you try and pull out the power before it drains the wrong system, but you only
succeed in creating a power surge that fries the entire workstation. This workstation can no longer be
xed.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 15
Fixed JET THRUSTER WORKSTATION
Running diagnostics on this station shows you that they’ve tampered with the jet thrusters’ coding and direc-
Failed tion. If you were going to try to use them to slow your descent, they’d have red in the wrong direction,
speed-crashing your shuttle into Giedi Prime below! You’re glad you caught this one. Time to get it xed.

UNDERSTAND TEST, DIFFICULTY 3

@ Success: Read aloud:
Y
You
ou exp
expert
ertly
ly x the cod
coding
ing and dir
direct
ection
ion of the thr
thrust
usters
ers so tha
thatt they
they wil
willl re
re cor
correc
rectly
tly.. Brea
Breathi
thing
ng a litt
little
le
easier, you signal to your team that this workstation is properly functioning again.
easier,
Time to x the next.

@ Fail: Read aloud:

You
You try to ge
gett th
the
e thr
thrus
uster
terss to re
retu
turn
rn to th
their
eir pr
prop
oper
er di
dire
rect
ctio
ion
n bu
butt ca
can’
n’tt ge
gett the
them
m to ob
obey
ey..
The ship lurches and you know that you can’t linger: you’ll have to x a different station.f
station. f

@ If two attempts to x this workstation fail: Read the following aloud:

Y
You
ou type in several commands but the thusters refuse to realign and your last attempt starts the ring
sequence. There is only one thing for it, to use the emergency jettison system before they send you
powering towards the planet even faster.
faster. You hear a clang as the thrusters disengage and bash into
the hull as you plummet. Looks like you’ll have to try landing without them. This workstation can no
longer be xed.

C O O L I N G S Y S T E M S T AT
AT I O N
Fixed
This station handles a lot of the system temperature levels for the entire shuttle, but most importantly,
it keeps constant tabs on the state of the engine itself. While it looks like most of the ship’s systems are
Failed being maintained, you catch that the coolant supply to the engine has been dismantled! If you hadn’t
caught it when you did, the next big burst of energy from the ship would cause the engine to overheat —
and maybe explode. You quickly get to xing the problem.

UNDERSTAND TEST, DIFFICULTY 3

@ Success: Read aloud:
There’ll be no engines exploding on your watch! YouYou reconnect the coolant supply and see the
engine’ss temperature start to return to normal levels.
engine’

Here’s hoping the rest are as easy to x!

@ Fail: Read aloud:

Whoever dismantled this was very efcient. You try multiple times, but the system will not reconnect
properly or cool down.
Time is too short to linger here: you’ll have to try to x a different station.

@ If two attempts to x this workstation fail: Read the following aloud:

For a moment you think you’ve done it, and coolant starts running in the system again. But unfor-
tunately you have not directed it properly and instead of going to the engine the coolant is ejected
outside. This workstation can no longer be xed.

16
A LT I T U D E M E T E R S T A T I O N Fixed
You remember this station from your studies. This
You This workstation is the altitude meter.
meter. It keeps track of
of the
ship’ss altitude-to-atmosphere ratio. It’s
ship’ It’s why you can still breathe comfortably
comfortably,, no matter where the ship is, Failed
planet or space.
You can also see
You see that half the screen
screen is blacked out
out and its command
command panel is malfunctioning.
malfunctioning. Who knows
knows
if the data you can see is accurate? The air could get really thin, quickly, if this system isn’t maintained!

UNDERSTAND TEST, DIFFICULTY 2

@ Success: Read aloud:
You
You move quickly to analyze the problem.
problem. The diagnostics
diagnostics show you precisely where
where you need to
examine, and soon, you have the panel properly restored and can conrm that the air levels are
where they need to be. Triumphant, you are ready to move onto the next workstation.

@ Fail: Read aloud:

Despite your analysis and running multiple diagnostics, the screen will not resolve, nor will the control
panel accept all of your input.
The jerk of the ship and the red ash of the warning lights reminds you that you have little time. You’ll
have to try to x a different station.

@ If two attempts to x this workstation fail: Read the following aloud:

With the ship shaking it seems impossible to adjust the complex and sensitive settings. Just as you are nearly
there another explosion rocks the ship and you accidentally push the wrong lever to full. Inside the console
the sensitive altitude meter cracks under the strain and shatters inside the console. This workstation can no
longer be xed.

L I F E S U P P O R T M O N I T O R S TAT I O N Fixed
You arrive at the workstation
You workstation and recognize
recognize the screens.
screens. This is the life support monitoring
monitoring system. ItIt
works in conjunction with several systems to keep the temperature and oxygen levels comfortable. You You Failed
run some diagnostics here, and catch a few tweaks someone made to mess with the system.

UNDERSTAND TEST, DIFFICULTY 3

@ Success: Read aloud:
Y
You
ou almost chuckle to yourself as you expertly catch all the tiny little tweaks made
made by your would-be
would-be
saboteur. Whoever did this was good!
With a nal input command, you once again review the main screen and nd everything working to
perfection.

@ Fail: Read aloud:

Y
You
ou input command
command after command, xing all the little changes
changes made by your
your would-be saboteur
saboteur..
Whoever did this is good! With a nal input command, you review the main screen once more. The
panel hiccups once and shuts off.
Uh-oh. Whatever you did, the panel will not restart. You’ll have to try to x a different station.

@ If two attempts to x this workstation fail: Read the following aloud:

This system has so many emergency backups and fail safes you can’t manage to change any of the
settings. Finally,
Finally, instead of breaking through, you trip another trap left by the saboteur
saboteur.. The onboard

air supply
crashed is vented
before you outside and
all boil to the temperature
death though! This begins to rise
workstation steeply.
can Luckily
no longer be you’ll
xed. probably have

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 17
SUCCESS
@ If the players xed at least three workstations, the ship is repaired : Read the following aloud:
As you repair the nal system, all the lights ash off for a heartbeat. When they return, the engine
room becomes more familiar,
familiar, with the sights, sounds, and soft, reassuring thrum of its heartbeat-like
systems telling you that your mission was successful.
The unsteady rumble of the shuttle around you smooths out, and the alarms turn off. You feel pride
swell in your chest. You and your team did a great job!

Continue to Scene 4 Debrieng. Remember to remove one Momentum from the pool.

FAILURE
@ If the players failed to x at least three workstations they fail to x the ship: Read the following aloud:
This isn’t working. Maybe it was too much time spent on the crew, maybe it was just poor luck in xing the
many problems in the engine room, but something in the back of your head tells you that it’
it’ss time to go.
You hate to leave a mission unnished.
You unnished. But now it’s your life at stake.
stake. You
You and your team leave the engine
room, retreating towards the escape pods.
The tiny pods are cramped, but their purpose was never meant to be comfort. Once everyone is in, you
hit the “eject” button and prepare to be shot away from the craft.
Instead, all lights ash off for a heartbeat. When they return, the unsteady rumble of the shuttle ceases,
and the alarms turn off. The simulation is over,
over, for better or worse. You
You climb out of the pod, knowing that
your instructors are on their way to discuss the mission’s
mission’s results.

This is the end of this scene. Remember to remove one Momentum from the pool.
 T R U S T I N G T H E H A R KO N N E N S
Even casual familiarity with the Dune universe has probably instilled in the players a fundamental distrust of the Harkonnens,
whose name is said to be a byword for treachery. The premise that the player characters are expected to work with, and trust,
the Harkonnens, may be a difcult hurdle to get over.
To accommodate this potential problem, the gamemaster is encouraged to deal with the issue in one or more of the
following ways, should it arise:
@ House Nagara has much to gain from this alliance, too much to balk at it. They may be fully aware of the Harkonnens’
reputation, and knowing that, feel they can work around it. This is the stereotypical ’deal with the devil’: House Nagara
must risk betrayal to get what it wants.
@ Some portion of the Harkonnens’ poor reputation may be exaggerated or manufactured by hostile propagandists, such
as those employed by enemies in House Atreides.
@ The Padishah Emperor himself, Shaddam Corinno IV, ruler of the Imperium, wishes this alliance to happen, and at that,
all such distrusts must take a back seat. It also means the Harkonnens are unlikely to do anything that might bring them
the Emperor’s displeasure.
The gamemaster may also simply tell the noble heirs that the Countess has assured them that the Harkonnens can be
trusted in this matter, as Nagara has several safeguards in place against betrayal. (This turns out to be wrong, but such
hubris is very much a part of the Dune universe.)

SCENE :

DEBRIEFING
Read aloud:
As bright lights blink on and the noise and rumbling of the shuttle ceases, the door to
the room opens and your instructors approach. Though they are different in appear-
appear-
ance, the sharp eye will notice one striking similarity: the emblem of House Harkon-
nen on the collars of their uniform, worn with pride. Reveal the
character cards
You know them well.
You well. Niran Rani is your battle advisor.
advisor. Small and scrappy
scrappy,, he is quick
for Niran Rani,
to anger and is a good but demanding teacher. He pulls no punches — not in his
Turo Imshel, and Korbus
mannerisms, speech, or on the battleeld. Turo Imshel, on the other hand, is your
Zaan to the players.
primary teacher for diplomacy and espionage. Imshel is tall and graceful in manner,
and often is the calming water to Niran Rani’s re.
They are accompanied by Korbus Zaan, a Harkonnen Mentat who is here as an observer.
He is a slightly round man with a soft face and piercing eyes. He clearly has his own
assessment of the training but leaves it to your teachers to make the evaluation.

Niran Rani barely waits for the characters to catch their breath, immediately doling out curt advice
on their combat capabilities as to where they did well and where they need improvement.
@ If they successfully repelled/defeated the enemy assailants , read aloud:
Rani is obviously pleased, praising their adherence to the formations and plans
they had been practicing. “Good! That was was good! We’ll get you properly
properly trained
yet! Hah!” Give the players
the Niran Rani
Give the players the Niran Assessment cardcard ’Eases Up on Go
Good
od Students’. This makes assessment card
any future tests dealing directly with him one Difculty level easier. as directed.
@ If the players failed to defeat the enemy assailants , read aloud:

“Wrong! That was all wrong! What was going on in your heads? If the alarm
sounds, you must know where you need to be! Your lives may depend on it!”
Rani is openly annoyed.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 19
 Give the players the Niran Rani Assessment card ’Drives Students Harder’. This will
make any future tests dealing with him one level of Difculty harder. The characters
know what this means: he’s likely to make their next practice even more rigorous.
Turo Imshel is there to note how the stealthier of the characters acted. They maintain a calm
demeanor in addressing the player characters, always.
@ If the characters successfully saved the shuttle, Turo
Turo is quietly pleased. Give the players
the Turo Imshel Assessment card ’Proud Teacher’. This Trait makes Communication tests
with Imshel easier by one level of Difculty.

@ If the players failed to save the shuttle, read aloud:

Turo waits patiently for Niran Rani’s re to die down, and then softly adds some pointers
and support. “The training may seem, at times, harsh. But it is necessary, as you know, to
ensure your safety and prosperity when it comes time for you to inherit Arrakis.”

Give the players @ Give the players

player s the Turo Imshel Assessment card ’Impatient Teacher’ which makes
the Turo Imshel Communicate tests with Imshel one level of Difculty harder from now on.
Assessment card
Kobus Zaan remains in the background. But the player characters can direct any questions
as directed.
they have to him if they prefer, especially if they have not impressed their training instructors.
The player characters can now ask their mentors any questions they have about their
performance or what is going on. We have prepared some potential questions and answers
below depending on who they address any question to. If the players can’t think of any
questions, suggest one of the following and ask them who they would like to ask.
@ “Why are we doing this?”
Niran Rani: What kind of question is that? You’re practicing your skills. Your House
is about to assume control of the most important planet in the universe. You were
sent here to learn to survive, so we’re doing this until I believe you can survive!
Turo Imshel: Every education can be enriched by the study and practice of meth-
ods not your own. Far too often, an innocent mistake born of shortsightedness
can start one down a path towards failure. We are happy to help ll in any educa-
educa-
tional ’blind spots’ that any previous training might have unintentionally left you.
Kobus Zaan: Necessity. Muscles need exercise to stay limber. Both physical and mental.

@ “What other options did we have?”

Niran Rani: Sabotage, maybe. Or setting traps. But in a crisis situation like that,

your best chance at staying alive is to make your way to the escape pods. You
You are
House Nagara. You must survive.
Turo Imshel: There is a time to be silent and a time to strike. A stealthy approach is
my preferred method, but unless you know precisely what your enemy is doing—or
how many are attacking—you cannot bank your survival on a guess. I would agree
with Niran Rani here: the fastest route away is the best way to ensure your survival.
Kobus Zaan: Very few,
few, as any other actions would have
have been less than optimal.
The goal of the simulation is to limit one’s choices to provide a specic range of
responses, so that we might study them.

@ “When do we get to return to our home?”

Niran Rani: When I can watch you run these scenarios without wondering when
you’ll slip up, that’
that’ss when.

Turo Imshel: Home? More likely to Arrakis, to join your family there. Your sab-
batical with us is nearly nished. Once the Baron deems you properly educated,
we will escort you safely there. You may, of course, come to us for guidance at all
times, no matter your location. We are your allies, and dare I say, your friends.

20
 Kobus Zaan: Impossible to determine. There are too many variables in your immediate future. Such a
prediction would be utterly speculative. Where do you think your House would best deploy you?

Once the players are done asking questions read aloud:

Turo Imshel turns their gentle eyes to you. “You have performed sufciently today, friends. I encourage
you to enjoy the remainder of the day, and to get plenty of rest. Ruminate on your successes and failures,
that you may improve with the next day’s training.”

Allow the players some time for their characters to interact with each other and discuss the practice run. Ask
them how they feel about their trainers; do they agree or disagree with the assessments made? How might they
improve their team cohesion on the next practice? Who did well and who did badly? How does everyone feel
about their training?
At the end of all scenes, remember to remove one Momentum from the pool.

NoN-player CharaCters
As seen below, a signicant gamemaster-controlled non-player character is almost identical to a player char-
acter in that they
t hey have the same array of Drives, Skills, Traits, and T
Talents.
alents. Minor or insignicant non-player
characters rarely need this much detail, however. When controlling a signicant non-player character
character,, the
gamemaster should review their abilities, taking these into mind when characterizing them in roleplaying or
when making tests.
Non-player characters may spend Threat, their version of Momentum, in the same way as player characters,
and may spend 3 Threat as if it were 1 Determination.

N IRAN RAN I
Harkonnen Battle Advisor DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
(Notable Supporting Character)
DUTY: 6 A soldier is nothing without a
Niran is a no nonsense commander who is more commander.
than prepared to send soldiers to their deaths if FAITH: 8 Fate will sort the weak from the strong.
that is what is necessary. He has seen his fair share
of battles, and taken a few scars himself. He knows JU
J U S T I CE : 7 Victory makes you right.
right.
the dangers of warfare as keenly as anyone, so
accepts no half measures from any of his students. POWER: 5
Traits: Soldier, Abrasive
T RU T H: 4
TALENTS
@ Advisor (Battle): Whenever Niran assists an ally

and uses Battle, the ally he assists may re-roll a SKILL FOCUSES
single d20 in their dice pool.
BATTLE: 7 Short Blades, Strategy
Assets: Knife, Sword, Personal Shield

COMMUNICATE: 4

DISCIPLINE: 6 Command

MOVE: 5

UNDERSTAND: 4
TURO IMSH EL
Harkonnen Training Instructor, DRIVE S TAT E M E N T
(Notable Supporting Character)
Turo is tall and cultured, elegant and charming DUTY: 4
where Niran is coarse and harsh. But under their
diplomacy is a deadly wit capable of devastating FAITH: 7 Believe in your students and
they will learn.
their students. Thankfully they tend to use this
talent to placate Niran. JJU
U S TI C E: 5
Traits: Teacher, Socialite
POWER: 8 Last
next year’s
year’s students
contacts.are
TALENT
@ Hidden Motives: When an opponent fails TR U T H: 6 Lies teach us nothing.
an Understand or Communicate test against
Turo, they may immediately create a trait which
reects a mistaken belief they have about them. SKILL FOCUSES

Assets: Training Notes, Knife, Personal Shield BATTLE: 4

COMMUNICATE: 7 Charm

DISCIPLINE: 5 Observe

MOVE: 4

UNDERSTAND: 5 Psychiatry

KORBUS ZAAN
Harkonnen Mentat (Notable Supporting Character) DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
Like many Mentats, Zaan likes to stay aloof from DUTY: 7 The Harkonnen will
most proceedings and observe so he might calcu- reward the faithful.
late unbiased data. To him, even life and death are FAITH: 6 Fate has a part for us all.
just data and statistics
statistics that are
are either useful or not
for his calculations. Utterly loyal to House Harkon- JJU
U S TI C E: 5
nen, Zaan is actually the villain of the piece. Under
orders from the Baron he is scheming to see House
Nagara fall so his master can reclaim Arrakis.
POWER: 8 Power is the only truth.

Traits: Mentat, Harkonnen, Duplicitous TR U T H: 4

TALENTS
@ Calculated Prediction: Zaan may spend a few
SKILL FOCUSES
minutes to meditate upon predicting the future.
This requires an Understand test with a Difculty BATTLE: 4
of 4; if successful, the gamemaster may assume
Zaan knows what the player characters’ next COMMUNICATE: 6 Deceit
action will be.
@ Mentat Discipline: Zaan has almost perfect DISCIPLINE: 6 Self-control
recall, for even the most complex data. When
making an Understand test that applies to MOVE: 5

recalling
considereddata, one of
to have the D20s
rolled in his pool
a 1 instead may it.
of rolling be UNDERSTAND: 7 Data Analysis

Assets: Favor of Baron Harkonnen, Concealed

Blade, Personal Shield
 A C T I , P A RT 
GROUND
TRAINING EXERCISES
In this scene the player characters are sent on another Objectives:
training mission to a Harkonnen facility
facility.. They must inltrate @ Expand the players’ understanding of Drives

the base and recover a minimic lm from deep inside the @ Introduce the following new rules/concepts:

complex. However,
However, it is not all just a training exercise and @ Traits

an enemy agent makes an attempt on the life of one of the @ Zones

characters before the mission is over. @ Extended tasks

@ Determination and Complications
@ Assets such as allies as knowledgeable and helpful

SCENE :
SETTING MINDS IN MOTION MINIMIC FILM
Read aloud: A small lament
made of
A long and peaceful night’s rest gives way to another morning greeted by the low,
’shigawire’ used
thrumming drone of sifter-engines and purifying lters. By now, you are used to the
to make recordings and
presence and necessity of these, although the difference between Giedi Prime and store data.
your homeworld may always be striking to you.
You prepare for another day of
You of training. There
There is a reason
reason House Harkonnen
Harkonnen is well-
known for its strength and military prowess; the nobility prefers to wean its children
on sport and feud. It’s a good thing to have them as allies; their strength has taught
you much already.

Ask the players how their characters might feel about the difference between the clear air
of their home planet and the smoggy, industrialized wastes of Giedi Prime. After a short
conversation, continue to read aloud:
You
You nish your morning
morning ablutions and make
make your way to the designated meeting
room. This has become a habit by now: your days begin with a lavish breakfast as
your trainers review the day’s schedule. Your
Your hosts are certainly experienced and
knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects, and this is reected in the range of train-
train-
ing exercises you are provided. Some days, hand-to-hand ghting is called for, while
other days, it is weapons-and-shield training. Yet other days are for intense study,
debate, or negotiation.
Your Harkonnen
Harkonne n hosts
host s have set another
an other impress
impressive
ive breakfast
bre akfast spread today.
t oday. A
cacophony of tempting colors and scents tease
t ease your senses, platters set artfully
along one wall, poison snoopers dancing their thin-limbed,
thin -limbed, lazy circuit of the
serving areas.
Whereas you are accustomed to an occasional treat from another world, most of the
food and drink here is, of necessity, imported. You stop to wonder if there was ever
a time when the planet produced its own food, or if its volcanic, chaotic surface ever
offered more than the abundant minerals and specially-adapted plants you know.
You settle into your favorite
You favorite seats to break your fast,
fast, and as you do, Turo
Turo Imshel and
and
Niran Rani launch into their
t heir usual reviews. Your
Your Harkonnen tutors have taken the time
to review their observations from the previous day, and take a more neutral tone and
tactical approach. Their assessment is both complete and honest, in some cases per-
haps a little too honest. It leads you to consider some of your aws and strengths.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 23
DRIVES
In the next section we’ll be making skill tests a little more complex by using different
Drives add to a
Drives for your tests. We only asked you to pick a single Drive in the previous sec-
skill to determine
tion, but now you will need to choose a Drive for each skill test, depending on your
a target number.
Drive Statements.
They are:
To remind you, a Drive determines why something is important to you and how you
@ Duty – what you are
are approaching a task. Which one you use is your choice each time you perform an
responsible for
action. It is tempting to always use your best, and that’s ne. But some approaches may
@ Faith – what your heart
not always be a good combination, even though they are effective. Using Power often
says
@ Justice – what is right makes
but you more
doesn’t intimidating,
help you make manywhich mightUsing
friends. get you
the what
sameyou want
Drive in atime
all the social situation,
also makes
@ Power – what you
you predictable, and that is something an observant enemy can take advantage of.
want
@ Truth – what the facts In the next section, to help you pick which Drive to use, your highest Drives have a
are Drive Statement. You You should look at the statement to see if it applies to the situa-
tion, and if so, that’s the Drive you should use. We have listed one for each of your
three highest Drives, but you can write in different statements if they are a better
DRIVE STA
STATEMENTS
TEMENTS
match for the character you want to play.
Each of a
character’s
Let the players take a look at their characters’ Drive statements and discuss if they feel right
highest Drives
for the character as they want to play them. If not, what might make a better statement?
have statements associ-
ated with them. When a Once ready to move on, read the following aloud:
character wishes to use
“Enough frivolities,” Niran Rani grunts, restless for the day to begin. “The day is new
a Drive as part of a test,
and the task is set. We’re going to be doing some ground training today.”
today.”
they must check to see if
the statement agrees with Turo continues where Rani left off: “We have prepared one of our complexes as a
the action being taken, training ground for you.” They motion towards Niran as he activates a lmbook to
or conicts with it. If a show a map of a facility on the table. It seems a fairly plain, overhead view of a series
character’s Drive agree of buildings.
with their actions, they
“In this training scenario, you have discovered that your enemies have an important piece of
receive bonuses, while if
information, kept on a minimic lm and safeguarded somewhere in this complex. Your mis- mis-
their Drives conict with
sion today is to inltrate and retrieve this important data before it can be used against you.”
their actions, they may
be hindered by their own They x you with an even stare. “With enough time and resources, you could cer-
convictions. tainly set spy-eyes, listening devices, and perhaps even tracers through the area. That
would have afforded you more information about the building’s interior, its man-
FILMBOOK power,, and its faculties. In this scenario, though, you have little to no time. This was
power
An advanced data all the information you were able to gather before your mission starts.”
storage device
that can show “At this point, you know that your target needs to be this building.” Niran motions to
the central building on the map. “But. You
You have discovered multiple entrances into
images and store vast
the building. You
You can see for yourself that they are patrolled and active in intervals
amounts of information.
unknown to you… as yet. You’ll need to choose which of these doors you want to
enter,, and where you should make your exit.”
enter
Remind the play-
ers to pick a Drive
The player characters can make a Difculty 3 Understanding or Battle test (their choice) to
before they make
see how well they analyze the guard positions.
a test and that they should
@ If they succeed, read the following (if they fail, move to Scene 2: Retrieval).
look at any statements
they have to choose. To the untrained eye, the buildings seem like they could be just another series of
meaningless exteriors, barely more than an external blueprint. You, though, are
trained. Your
Your eyes fall to certain points and recognize patterns on the map. Entry-
ways are arteries and veins, all with their own pulse and ow, and you can see the
easiest ways to get to the heart of your mission.

When it comes to inltrating the rst part of the base, all your Difculty numbers
will be 1 lower. This bonus ’stacks’ with any others that you acquire.

At the end of all scenes, remember to remove one Momentum from the pool.

24
 SCENE :
RETRIEVAL
Read aloud:

Your
Your allies’ transport
transport has dropped
dropped you off at the entrance you requested.
requested. Watch-
Watch-
ing the approach, you feel your jaw set and your focus settling in. This may be just
another practice run, but you are determined to make the best of it that you can.
In this next scene we will introduce Traits,
Traits, Determination, Assets, and Complications.

Determination is a new type of bonus point, but one much more powerful than DETERMINATION
Momentum. You You each receive one point and you will be able to keep it if you do Before roll - turn
not use it in this scene. When you spend a Determination
Deter mination point on a test, instead one die into a
of rolling one of your dice you may put it on the table showing a 1, granting you an critical success
automatic critical and two successes. Roll any other dice as normal.
After roll - reroll any
If you want to spend a Determination after you have rolled, you may instead re-roll number of dice
any of your dice again.
Traits describe the most important details about a place, time, person, or object — TRAITS
keywords for other rules to interact with. Each Trait
Trait is a single word or a short phrase A Trait can:
that describes a single detail about its subject. A Trait is always both true and impor-
Let you try some-
tant: if a Trait stops being true, or stops being important, it fades into the background
thing you couldn’t
or is removed from play.
do normally.
If a Trait applies to an action you are attempting it can either reduce to increase the
Make something easier to
Difculty by one level. It may also make an action impossible, or possible when it oth-
oth- attempt (–1 Difculty).
erwise would not be. Traits can be affected by using Momentum and Determination,
which we’ll come to in a moment. Make something harder
to attempt (+1 Difculty,
Assets are a form of Trait
Trait but are more tangible. They represent items of equipment
or need a skill test when it
like knives and shields, but also favors owed and useful documents. An asset works
wouldn’t normally).
the same way as a Trait, aiding an action or allowing it. Each of you will be given an
electronics kit and a knife (if you don’t have one) which are assets. You
You may write Stops you doing some-
these on your character sheet under Assets. Knives will aid you in combat, making a thing that you could
test easier than if you were unarmed. The electronic kits are required tools to allow normally do.
you to open the doors in the facility, so they don’t make the test easier but instead
allow you to make the tests in the rst place. ASSETS
Items of equip-
Complications are ’bad Traits’.
Traits’. If you roll a ’20’ on any dice when making a test you
ment or other
suffer a Complication. It might be a wound in a ght, making an enemy in a social
things you own.
challenge, breaking a piece of equipment when making a repair.repair. Whatever happens
it is bad. A Complication works just like a Trait but is always against you, increasing Effectivly work exactly like
traits.
the Difculty or making an action impossible. Complications can occur on other dice
results, but only if the Complication range is increased. In such cases a Complication
COMPLICATIONS
might result from a roll of up to 16 or above. But this only happens for exceptionally
Negative traits
dangerous tasks and so won’t occur while you are training. For now now,, just watch out for
you must take
rolling a 20.
on when you roll
a 20.
Some Traits may already be applied to this mission depending on how the player characters
did in the previous one. The gamemaster should tell the players which ones apply given their
previous performance.
@ If Niran Rani gave the group the Trait ’Eases Up On Good Students’ the base will be
less well-manned, making inltration and movement around much easier. All tests to
move around the base will be 1 Difculty level lower.
@ If Niran Rani gave the group the trait ’Drives Students Harder’ the base will be heavily
guarded. There will be more guards and movement and stealth will be harder. All tests
to move around the base will be 1 Difculty higher.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 25
 Read Aloud:
There are three major challenges to be beaten to penetrate the security and reach
the minimic lm. This scene will allow you to practice how to use Traits. However, the
EXTENDED TASKS tests will be a little more complex as we will be using Extended tests.
When the gam-
In an extended test, just beating the Difculty once is not enough. To
To succeed in the
emaster decides
test you must collect points towards a ’Requirement’ over several consecutive tests.
that a situation
Time will also play a factor, limiting how many tests you can make.
is an extended task,
they choose how big the Each successful test adds 2 points towards the requirement, unless a Complication is
extended task will be. This rolled, in which case it adds only 1 point. A point of Momentum can also be spent to
is called the requirement. add another point towards the requirement.
Each passed test made
However,, the gamemaster can spend a point of Threat to increase the requirement by one.
However
towards completing an
extended task scores one
or more points, and when Once everyone is clear on how an extended test works, Read the following aloud:
a total number of points
Y
Your
our approach to the facility has been
been easy enough. Now that you are
are at the main
have been scored equal to
fence, the weight of your mission presses in on you. You need to nd out where in
the requirement, then the
this building the minimic lm might be hidden and make your way there without get-
get-
extended task is complete,
ting caught.
and whatever event or
activity the task repre-
sented is resolved. ZONE �: THE PERIMETER
As a rule of thumb, each Penetrating the outer zone is relatively simple. It is a Difculty 2 extended task (Difculty
passed test should score 1 if the players passed their Understand or Battle tests to assess the facility above) with a
two successes towards the requirement of 6. Each player can use Battle, Move, or Understand to make the test and
requirement, which can be they can pool their points towards the requirement as they are working together. However,
reduced by complications each player character may only make two tests.
and increased by spending
Momentum. Remember the Difculty may be further modied by Niran Rani’s previous assessment of the shut- shut -
tle training. Note that a Difculty can be reduced to 0. If that happens the test will pass automati-
automati-
cally but your roll is more likely to generate Momentum. In this scene, characters may not assist
each other, or avoid the test, as no one can carry anyone else in this mission. If the players are
unsure what each skill means or which one to pick, read or paraphrase the descriptions below.
@ Understand tests represent the information the characters discover as they sneak
through the halls. Comprehension, deduction, and careful application of knowledge will
get the characters to their goal the fastest. A success could yield some bit of informa-
tion about a particular guard’s habit or weakness or seeing what elements of their
routines can provide opportunities.
@ Battle tests help the players avoid enemy patrols. Knowing how a seasoned com-
mander deployed the patrols gives the ability to anticipate how they are going to move
to best ensure that they are adequately covering the base. Success lets the characters
determine where these patrols are going to be and how to be elsewhere.
@ Move tests help the players navigate the halls of the building without being spotted.
Though Understand and Battle tests can provide intel that can be used to predict
where the characters might nd enemy patrols, Move lets them adapt and respond
rapidly to any unanticipated presences.
As you also need to pick a Drive to make the test, the following may be useful:
@ Duty represents wanting to perform well to bring honor and prestige to your House

@ Faith represents your reliance and trust in your friends.

@ Justice represents a desire to do the right thing and treat even the guards fairly.

@
Power represents
failure to you. a desire to prove yourself just because second place is still a
@ Truth represents the desire to see what the training it really trying to teach you.

26
@ If the extended task succeeds read the following aloud:
After scouting the perimeter you have a good understanding of the layout and
where the minimic lm might be. You also understand the pattern of patrols so
you can avoid trouble. There is a rush of excitement shared between you as you
head into the building. Your goal is one step closer, and you are energized!
You wind your way
You way carefully through
through corridors, ducking
ducking out of sight from human
patrols. At one point, you creep past a locked door, hearing a low, thrumming
drone of sound. You
You have to smile to yourself; just a few moments ago, you’d

have it’guessed
that it’s that to be
s a mechanized the room
practice in which
room, yourbattle
lled with targetdrones
awaited.
andNow you know
a stationary
ghting machine.
Though you might want to try your hand against such a challenge, you keep
moving towards your mission goal. Niran Rani will probably be happy to set you
against that challenge another day
day,, more than likely
likely..
Another few turns, and then you hide away, waiting for the next patrol to make
ADDING OR
its rounds. The door is a few paces away, locked and alarmed. You steel yourself,
REMOVING TRAITS
heart racing excitedly. You
You know that you will need to disarm the alarm, unlock
There are two
the door,
door, and sneak into the room before the next patrol arrives.
ways for players
Time is of the essence, as is precision. to add or remove
Traits to alter a scene
The next set of footfalls approaches…
approaches… and leaves. It’s time to act!
to their favor: spending
Momentum and spending
@ If the characters failed at the extended task, they trip the alarms and the base Determination.
becomes active. Read the following to them:
By spending two Momen-
With a blare of klaxon horns, you realize with a sinking feeling that this is not
tum, the player can create
going to work. You’ve been found out. You hear metal doors closing around
a new Trait for the scene,
the base and the stamp of boots down distant hallways, the bark of the guard
change an existing one,
patrols coordinating
coordinating their response. Part of any plan requires an assessment as to
or completely remove one
whether it can achieve its goals, and in this case, you must accept that it’
it’ss time to
currently in play. When
get out of here.
creating a Trait, it must
relate to the action just
With a failure, the whole base now gains the Trait ’Alarm raised’ . This will increase
attempted, and it must
all Difculties by another 1 (and can stack with other Traits). The players must decide
be something that could
whether to keep going and risk making things worse or giving up on the mission in the
reasonably result from the
hopes that is the right move to make.
action that’s been per-
If they elect to carry on, read the next section (Zone 2: The Main Building), if they opt to formed.
abort, move to The Escape on page 29.
By spending a Determi-
nation point players can
ZONE : THE MAIN BUILDING
do this at any point in
Read aloud: the scene. The change
must still remain true and
Now that you are deep inside the facility the real work begins. But there are two
important to the scene.
obstacles to you getting closer to where you think the minimic lm may be. The inner
The Trait should relate
alarm system will need to be deactivated and a series of locked doors will need to be
directly to the character
opened to get further access.
— in this case, perhaps
As time is a factor, both these tests need to be done simultaneously, so you the Countess or the family
will need to divide into two teams. The Difculty for each task is 2 and has a resources “xing” some-
some-
requirement of 6. thing behind the scenes
for them. It may even rep-
Each of you can make two tests towards the requirement your team is working
resent something which
towards. But if you
they still haven’t don’t need
reached to make a second
their requirement. test you
You must alsocan
pickjoin the again,
Drives other team if
possibly had always been true,
but which has only now
guided by the previous notes or how things went in that test.
been revealed or become
important.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 27
 If the alarm is already raised this is an opportunity to turn it off, but you may choose to conserve your time
and all focus on the door
door.. If you haven’t raised
r aised the alarm you might choose to do the same, but you’ll
automatically trip the alarms and bring a whole heap of new problems if you do.
Those who are trying to unlock the doors and access the rest of the facility can use Understand or Move.
But they can only attempt the task if they have their electronic kits. Those trying to disable the inner
alarms can use Understand or Discipline. The alarms are simpler and don’t need the electronic kits, so
they make the Difculty 1 step easier if used.
Each character can either make a test themselves or assist another member of their team instead. They
can still only participate in two tests.

@ If the attempt to open the door succeeds, read the following aloud:
Success! With a satisfying sigh of sound, the nal lock releases, and the door slides lazily open. You
and your teammates duck into the room and try to close the door behind you.

Go to the next section Zone 3: Central Control.

@ If the characters failed at both extended tasks, they not only trip the alarms but the base locks down.
Read the following to them:
With a blare of klaxon horns, you realize with a sinking feeling that this is not going to work. You’ve
been found out. You hear metal doors closing around the base and the stamp of boots down distant
hallways, the bark of the guard patrols coordinating
coordinating their response. Part of any plan requires an
assessment as to whether it can achieve its goals, and in this
t his case, you must accept that it’
it’ss time to
get out of here.

Note that the mission is aborted and turn to the section titled The Escape on page 29.
@ If the characters fail to deactivate the alarm the Trait ’Alarm Raised’ is now in play as detailed above.
This will add 1 to all further Difculty levels.
@ If they succeed in deactivating the alarm the ’Alarm Raised’ Trait is not longer in play and ceases to
affect the game. With the alarm shut down the guards will assume the emergency is over.

ZONE : CENTRAL CONTROL

Read aloud:
Inltrating the nal Zone of the building is another Extended Task of Difculty 3, with a requirement of
8. It requires a multitude of different skills as it is a team effort to achieve the nal goal: locating where the
minimic lm is in the nal building, disabling the trap surrounding it, and getting out of the room before the
next patrol arrives. As such, each of you can choose any skill to use in the test, but unless you are assist-
ing, no two characters can use the same skill. There will only be time for each character to make two rolls,
whether it is making a test or assisting. After that the guards will arrive for sure and you will all be captured.
Take a moment to decide who is using what skill and Drive and tell me when you’re ready.

If the players are unsure which skill to use, the following guide will help:
@ Understand tests make it easier for the players to nd the actual item in the room, as well as understand
what it will take to disarm the trap surrounding it.
@ Move tests help with the physical manipulation involved in disabling the trap mechanisms and retrieving
the item.
@ Discipline tests can help keep the teammates focused or calm during this exciting event.

@ Battle tests help the players prepare for an upcoming ght. But the goal here is to grab the minimic lm
and go, not to ght.
@ If time is running out, successful Communicate tests help the characters create a distraction at the cost of
one of their number being detained (defeated) by the enemy.

28
Each player should pick a Drive to go with the skill as before, using the statements to help. However, they need not
all pick different Drives.
Keep track of how many failed skill tests they make. If they have had a total of three failed tests, they have alerted
the guards. In this case they gain the trait ’Alarm Raised’ and the Difculty of all remaining tests increases by 1.
Once the extended task is resolved, read the following aloud:
@ If the players achieved the extended task , read this:
It takes an enormous amount of self-control not to sigh with relief as your hands close over the newly
liberated minimic lm. You
You look up and see similar expressions on the faces of your teammates.
Giving them a curt nod by way of signal, you all fall back into your movement pattern and exit the
room before anyone is the wiser.

@ If they failed to reach the requirement before they ran out of tests, read this:
“Almost there…” you breathe. Your hand is seconds away from releasing the last locking mechanism
on the lm when, just down the hall, you hear the heavy boot-stamps of the guards. You are too late!
You
You must abort the mission and make your escape, at least there is a chance you won’t
won’t add being
captured to your failure to complete the mission.

THE ESCAPE
Whether they succeed or abort, read the following when they decide to leave:
You race
You race dow
downn the
the halls
halls of the buil
building
ding,, heart
heartbeat
beatss in your ears
ears,, ducki
ducking
ng past
past patr
patrols
ols and skir
skirting
ting thre
threats
ats that
might have fooled any other team.
You are
You are a few
few scant
scant turns fro
from
m your
your chose
chosenn exit
exit point
point when the ligh
lights
ts aro
around
und you go dark for one mom
moment
ent and
then ash back to life, brighter than before. A ashing red light alternates with the day-tones of the glow-
glow-
globes.
Well, if the enemy hadn’t already known about you, they certainly do now! There will be no sneaking out of
this one. You can hear shouts down several of the halls as you race past.

Ask all the players to make a Battle test, none can assist. Whichever player character rolls the fewest successes is
the name that should be used in place of (rst character) in the next section. In case of ties, pick the lowest Battle
skill. Pick the character with the second lowest test to be (second character) .
Read Aloud:
With a strange hiss that seems to come from nowhere, suddenly ( rst character) stumbles forward, as though
tripped up by a wire. As they tumble messily to the ground, the rest of you notice a small dart sticking out of
their back!
As you recover from this surprise, you realize it is too late — a guard patrol is upon you!
Troops begin to surround you as (rst character) stumbles to the group. They are shivering and sweating and
having difculty speaking. You draw your weapons, ready to ght your way out if you have to.
“Halt!” The sharp command is barked by the familiar voice of Niran Rani, at the end of the hall. You bristle —
how did this go wrong? You’re never going to hear the end of this…
At the stand-down order, the conscripted ’enemies’ obediently raise their hands and back away — all but
one. And that one lunges forward again, right towards ( second character). Your team has just enough time to
notice the dartgun at his side, its peace-bolt removed and another small dart cartridge in his hand!
Before you can act to defend yourselves three more ’whooshes’ of sound echo impossibly fast through the
room. The attacker’s lunge nearly knocks (second character) off their feet, but instead, his momentum contin-
ues until he lands heavily, loudly, on the ground.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 29
 Three darts are embedded perfectly in the back of his neck and head. Niran’s eyes burn angrily as he storms
forward to meet the downed attacker, his own dart-gun still in his hand. As he secures the attacker, command-
ing help from one of the conscripts, Turo Imshel steps forward, radiating concern. They sweep past the others
straight to (rst character) who lies gasping on the oor, and jams an auto injector into their thigh. The basic
anti-venom begins to help, but (rst character) is in bad need of medical attention.
Things seem a blur of chaos from this point. Amid shouts for the attending medic to see to (rst charac-
charac-
ter) Niran and his assistants drag the would-be attacker away — likely the last you will see of him. But who
was he?

The others involved in the incident — yourselves included — are taken aside, one by one, and interviewed
to get an idea of what happened here. The relief at not being on the receiving end of Niran Rahi’s fury is little
consolation, though, as you are left wondering what, exactly, just happened.

The scene ends here.

Take a break and then let the players talk in character about the events of the mission.
At the end of all scenes, remember to remove one Momentum from the pool.
 A C T I , P A RT 
T H E T RU E TA S K
In this scene the player characters must make contact with Objectives:
an agent of the Giedi Prime underworld to learn more @ Discuss the mission with an eye to the bigger goals

about the assassin. This involves nding the agent in one here: protection of the House and its well-being.
of the lowest and least pleasant parts of the capital city of @ Find evidence suggesting that Vernius has something

Barony. brewing.
@ Suggestion of House Vernius’ modus operandi — how
they might sabotage things. Mentats and Spymasters
will be especially useful for planning here.

SCENE :
No More praCtiCe (iNterlude)
Read aloud:
Although it has not been more than a day, time feels like it stretches forever.
forever. The past day was little more
than a blur — here a practice, and then abruptly,
abruptly, a crisis. Then just as jarringly,
jarringly, interviews and a visit to the
emergency medical facility
facility..
The good news is that the poison was able to be counteracted in time; your team is still whole and intact.
The Harkonnen Suk physician explains that it was a two-stage combined poison, each stage was probably
smuggled separately past the Harkonnen poison-snoopers, because each was not lethal in and of itself.
One half of the dose was only a powerful narcotic, while the other dose would react with it and cause
severe muscle contractions, inducing heart paralysis and rapid asphyxiation.
The bad news… well. That wasn’t supposed to have happened. You weren’t there to see what ultimately
happened to the attacker, but knowing your hosts as well as you do, it would be highly unlikely that he is
still alive.
When next you are summoned to your usual meeting room, you immediately notice a difference: addi-
tional poison-snoopers have been installed near your food tables. Additionally,
Additionally, portable poison-snoopers
lie nearby, within easy reach of plates. An extra glimmer in the corner catches your eye, and you recog-
nize the spy-eye very obviously there. Knowing House Harkonnen as you do, there are probably several
more hidden around the room that you cannot instantly see. It’s reassuring
reassuring to know that your allies are
taking your safety seriously.
seriously.
Turo Imshel sits tall and statuesque at the head of the meeting table. They motion towards the food table,
invitingly,, and wait for you to choose food, drink, and be seated.
invitingly
“Niran is updating our superiors and improving security measures,” they explain. “We have conferred
earlier this morning, and for today,
today, you are my pupils alone.”
They take a moment to consider their next words. “We — the entire House, really — are concerned at
yesterday’s events. Rulers and leaders, though, should not hide behind walls and fear for their lives. They
must press forward, undaunted, unphased… unstoppable.”
“With that in mind, we need to proceed in consideration of how best to assist your House. We have been
able to ascertain that your attacker was operating under orders from House Vernius.”
You feel your blood
You blood grow hotter
hotter upon hearing the name.
name. House Vernius
Vernius of Ix has always
always been at odds
odds
with your family. Both Houses are renowned for their technological prowess, and it took a lot of hard work
for House Nagara to earn the efdom of Arrakis. You’d expected Vernius to feel burned by that, but you
didn’t expect them to take such pointed vengeance towards you!
Almost as though reading your mind, Turo Imshel continues. “If Vernius is being bold enough to try to reach
you even here, it is almost certain they will have something in store for your efdom on Arrakis. You must be
prepared and watchful, Nagara; the last thing you want is for Vernius to upset your spice production.”

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T
 31

“Niran and I have discussed your options and we feel the wisest idea is to investigate
any further threats. There is a chance that your attacker might have been in league
with a small cell of operatives on-planet. Unfortunately,
Unfortunately, he is… unable to answer
further questions.”
Turo looks mildly annoyed at that.
“There is a way to nd this out, though,” they admit, pulling out a map.
Reveal Qu’Shan’s “An individual is known to us, named Qu’shan,” Turo explains, the name falling from their

character
the playerscard to lips like atosour
is easier taste.
hide. The“He prefers he
reputation to operate
has builtout ofone
up is the busier squares
of secrecy and in Low Market,
efciency; if youwhere
needit
something that is illegal, unforgivable, or otherwise distasteful, his is the rst name you’ll hear.
The people in Low Market believe him to be uncatchable by the local authorities.”
“This is, of course, a lie.”
“We have an… arrangement,” and here Turo again spits the word out, “with Qu’shan.
He provides us with valuable information and connections as needed. He informs us
of any dirty dealings on Giedi Prime when asked. In return, we allow him to operate
seemingly beneath our notice.”
“If there are still operatives of Vernius on Giedi Prime, he will likely know it.” Turo
Turo
xes you with a level stare. “This will require delicacy and careful communication.
Qu’shan
Qu’ shan cannot be seen giving this information to House Harkonnen. That would
be catastrophic for all parties involved; it would reveal him to be the rat he is, and if
there are still agents around, they’ll want to go deeper into hiding to evade capture.”
They sniff dispassionately.
dispassionately. “My friends, the time to practice is over
over.”
.”

Allow the players time to discuss these events and prepare for the mission to the Low
Market. Each player may take one extra asset (card) with them on the mission in addition
to their other assets.
SCENE :
LEARN AND GO
Read aloud:
Turo Imshel has seen to it that you are disguised in multiple layers, outtted with
randomized, bulky breathing apparatuses. As it is explained to you, since the Low
Market is a slum community, a lot of people purchase whatever breathing lters are
available, or otherwise build their own. It is a grim reminder that while you are free
to walk around and breathe freely in your allies’ holdings, the air outside is polluted,
thick, and hazardous to breathe for long intervals without ltration.
You have been given a passcode phrase
You phrase that you must give
give to Qu’shan;
shan; so he will
will
know you are to be trusted.
You are dropped
You dropped off half
half a mile from
from the farthest edge of Low Market.
Market. You
You have
been given your directions, and as you make your way into the slums, the difference
between this place and ’Upper Barony’ is striking.

The players can attempt several Understand tests with a Difculty 2. Remember to consider
Drives and let them spend any Momentum they wish to.
With each success, they will notice one of the following (they may also spend Momentum to
gain this information as well):
@ Low Market is a jumble of people of all shapes, sizes, etc.
@ Although the outer edge of Low Market is fairly quiet, there is a hum and din of sound
the more towards the center of town you walk.
32

@ The variety of breathing apparatuses range from a small nose clip to full-face masks.
Turo was right; this will make it easier for you to blend in.
@ Very
Very few women or chi
children
ldren are o
on
n the sstreets
treets.. Whether
Whether this is because
because tthey
hey are
are hidi
hiding
ng
or otherwise not present is unknown.
@ There is a mannerism particular to the residents here. When they walk, they usually try
to mind their own business. Eye contact is quickly avoided. These are people trying to
survive on a planet whose primary rule seems to be “Eat or be eaten.”

If the must
Each groupmake
can discover at least
a Discipline testthree of the above
at Difculty theythan
2. If more can half
try and blend
of the in with
player the crowd.
characters
succeed, the group gains the Trait ’Blending In’. This will reduce the Difculty by 1 when
interacting in the Low Market.
If they cannot discover at least three facts about the market, or all of them fail the Discipline
test to blend in they gain the Trait ’Outsiders’. Give the players
the Low Market
With the characters blending in or sticking out like a sore thumb, read the following:
inltration card –
The market is crowded and cramped, and you are all jostled about in the throng as either as ’Blending In’ or
you try to look for Qu’Shan. But one thing is clear, he is not going to be easy to nd. ’Outsiders’ as directed.
Your
Your best bet is to split up and use different
different methods to locate
locate him before someone
someone
notices you are outsiders. You
You will not only need to nd him but also locate a good
place for you to talk.

Locating Qu’shan is going to be an Extended Task, Difculty 2 with a requirement of 6.

Everyone can make two rolls to contribute to the requirement. Traits (like Blending In) can
reduce the Difculty and assets might also be applied in the gamemaster thinks they will help.
Traits like ’Outside
’Outsiders’
rs’ will increase the Difculty. Each player should describe how they are
looking for Qu’Shan. Any of the following skills can be used:
@ Communicate tests help the members of House Nagara both deceive the people
around them and ask after Qu’Shan without rousing suspicion.
@ Discipline tests help the characters exude a non-threatening demeanor, or alternately
a demeanor that does not invite interference. It will let them listen to a few hushed
conversations to get clues.
@ Move tests helps disguise their characteristic walking patterns, so they blend in more
with the community around them. In the ebb and ow of the crowd they can look out
for anyone matching Qu’Shan’
Qu’Shan’ss description.
@ Understand tests helps the characters comprehend the details of what is going on
around them and discern for themselves which locations in Low Market are most likely
to harbor Qu’shan.
Qu’shan.
The player characters may make one roll each to reach the requirement. If they fail they won’t Give or reclaim
nd Qu’Shan, but he will nd them. They lose the Trait ’Blending In’ (return the card to the from the players
gamemaster), if they didn’t have it they gain the Complication ’Outsiders’ which makes any the Low Market
Difculty 1 higher when interacting with the Low Market. inltration card – either
’Blending In’ or ’Outsiders’
@ If the player characters fail the extended task , read this: as directed.
You
You spend the day
day exploring the ins and
and outs of Low
Low Market. Just when you think
you have the place well-mapped, you turn a corner
corner,, only to discover something
new. You
You feel out of your element, and some of it must have shown through your
disguise; every time you think you found and followed Qu’shan,
Qu’shan, he is gone again.
Just as you are about to give up, a mysterious gure beckons you into an alcove
and whispers the passcode to you. It appears this is Qu’shan,
Qu’shan, although he
appears deeply disappointed that he has had to nd you before you brought too
much attention to yourselves.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 33

He leads you away from the main thoroughfare into a small alley where he indicates a small dwelling
set into the industrial wall. The place is cramped and smells of oil but if you can trust Qu’Shan you
should be safe here for now.

@ If the player characters pass the extended task, read this:

You
You spend the day
day exploring the twisting,
twisting, turning walls of
of Low Market.
Market. Working together
together,, you dis-
cover patterns to the populace, and within those patterns, you locate Qu’
Qu’shan.
shan.
He is slippery — one would hope as much, with the reputation this man has — and while he manages
to avoid you several times, you start to learn the proper signals to reassure him of your intent. Leav-
ing him bribes also helped your cause.
You
You nally manage
manage to slip him your
your passcode, and
and he agrees to meet with you in private.
private.
He leads you away from the main thoroughfare into a small alley where he indicates a small dwelling
set into the industrial wall. The place is cramped and smells of oil but if you can trust Qu’Shan you
should be safe here for now.

@ Qu’shan’ss home, a successful Understand test, at Dif-

If the player characters look around as they enter Qu’shan’
culty 3, shows he has a series of weapons and traps hidden around this area. He may be alone, but he
is not unprepared.
Getting information out of Qu’shan requires a Communicate test with a Difculty 2 (or a Discipline test, Dif-
culty 4, to represent trying to intimidate Qu’shan). The Difculty will be one higher if they have the ’Out -
sider’ Trait, one lower if they have the ’Blending In’ Trait. If the test is successful the player characters can ask
a single question and get an honest answer. They can ask more questions and expect the same for the cost
of 1 Momentum (this is a use of ’Obtain Information’):
@ What do you know about House Vernius?

He gives a sly grin; he knows who he’s talking to. “The House of Technology? You might’ve heard
of them. I hear they’re really great with machines. Really pushing the innovation.”

@ Did you hear about the attack? / Can you help us? / Is there a Vernius Cell after us?
The smudged grin he usually wears fades a moment as he gives the question some thought.
Eventually,, he shakes his head. “I haven’t heard of anything. Vernius would be pretty stupid to
Eventually
have a full cell ’round here. Still, I’d know if someone wanted to hide. Or if someone wanted to
hire.”
He thinks about it another moment. “I’ll keep my ear to the ground. Tell Turo
Turo they owe me a
favor for it. May take me a couple of days to get some good information, but I’ll keep you in the
loop. I can have one of my runners get word to you.”
He shows you a small capsule. “I usually keep my messages tight, and in one of these. Turo’ll
know.”

@ What other services can we use?

A wide smile appears on Qu’shan’s face. “Now we’re talking! What are you looking for? Weap-
Weap -
ons? Affection? Special food? Clean water? A way to forget how much the air stinks here?”

Qu’shan can sell them whatever they want — that’s part of his job. He can get any plain, normal
items quickly. But the player characters can get those too for the most part given they are part
of a noble House. However, he can get assets past low levels of security into places (zones) they
shouldn’t be, which may be of more use. Anything special, though, requires time to gather and
deliver. He’ll want money up front — overcharging, of course. The players have no way of knowing
this, but by the time any of those special items might be ready, he’ll be dead, and the characters
will have lost their money.
34

Once all questions have been answered, read the following aloud:
Qu’shan asks, giving you an ugly grin with teeth rotten or missing. “I have
“We’re done here, then?” Qu’shan
someplace to be.”
He turns to leave. “Remember. Watch for my runner. Turo’ll know the one.” And with that, you watch as
he strides away, deftly swapping out one face mask for another
another,, blending easily away into the streets.
You
You make your way
way back to the edge of Low Market
Market and signal that
that you are ready
ready for your return.
return.

At the end of all scenes, remember to remove one Momentum from the pool.
SCENE :
EPILOGUE
Read the following aloud to the players:
The return home is lled with a quiet sense of pride. You found your way through the obstacles, earned
the trust of the Harkonnen contact, and will soon know more — if there is, indeed, any more to know.
Niran Rani’s
Rani’s approval is plain on his face — though, true to himself, he does not make the next days’
practice sessions any kinder on you for your success. Turo
Turo Imshel, too, wears their pride in you openly. It
is likely not a coincidence that each of your favorite foods are reliably kept stocked in the usual meeting
chamber.
Your
Your training continues as originally planned,
planned, and there is an additional sense
sense of pride when
when you see

how far along you’ve

military-minded comeown
than your in your abilities
House, and knowledge.
you have Even though
come to understand moreHouse
aboutHarkonnen is far
them — and more
more
about yourself as a result.
It is a week gone by before you hear news from Qu’shan. Turo Imshel summons you all into the meeting
room, where he greets you with a solemn, ashen-faced stare. You
You feel a pit in your stomach as you take
your seats and await news.
“Qu’shan was found dead this morning,” they say quietly.
“Qu’shan quietly. “The last time anyone saw him alive, he had
been making arrangements with one of the couriers that we use to ferry messages.
The statuesque Harkonnen pulls a small note-capsule from within their sleeve. “That courier dropped off
this note.”
They unroll the note and read: “Vernius
“Vernius cell only had one other. Retreated off
off Giedi Prime so no pointers
to him. Plans unknown beyond that. No further news.”
You feel the knot in your
You your stomach build anew. House Vernius
Vernius had planned something,
something, but who knows
what it was? Whatever it is, whatever those plans, they were worth a human life. There’s
There’s more here than
meets the eye, it seems, and you realize that your adventures may only be beginning.

This concludes Act I of Agents of Dune

Dune.. Take
Take a break and discuss how the game went and how you think
the characters are developing. Return any Trait cards you have to the gamemaster
gamemaster,, they will n
not
ot be
required anymore.
When you are ready, you can return to the story with Act II. The gamemaster remains the same and
everyone keeps the same character
character..
In later sections you may need to reference the rules detailed in this chapter, but you can also refer to
the digital Core Rulebook if you have it to hand.
AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 35
 A C T T WO :

GAMES AND SCHEMES

There is a legend that the instant the Duke Leto Atreides died a meteor
streaked across the skies above his ancestral palace on Caladan.

—the Princess Irulan: “Introduction to A Child’s History of Muad’Dib“

 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 37

A C T I I , P A RT �
THE MERCHANDISE
As the characters realize that there is more going on behind Objectives:
the scenes than they realized, a courier with a message from @ Receive the shipment of House Nagara products and

the Countess Nagara arrives. She is putting the characters inspect them for any tampering.
in charge of negotiating a trade deal with the Combine @ Negotiate the sale of the House Nagara goods with the

Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles, the powerful organi- CHOAM delegate.

zation more commonly known as CHOAM. It’ It’ss up to th
thee @ Keep the shipment secure.
players to take control of the shipment of valuable House
Nagara wares, nd a place to store them, and check them
for damage.
In the negotiations themselves, the characters may sell all
their merchandise, some of their merchandise, or none of it.
This may have long-ranging ramications for them.

Once you are ready to start the gamemaster can read out or paraphrase the following:

Having played Act I you should be a little more aware of how this all works, but we’ll still be helping you
along. However,
However, we will go a little faster over the parts you are already used to. So if at any point some-
thing is confusing, check back to the rules sidebars in Act I and that should help you out.
In Act II the story continues and we’ll add some more involved rules for conict, such as negotiating a
deal or a deadly knife ght. But what you already know still applies in just the same way.
way.
For Act II the gamemaster should remain the same, and everyone should play the same characters. How-
ever,, you can swap over as long as no one has read ahead and been spoiled on what is coming up.
ever
Your
Your characters remain
remain as they are
are with anything you have lled in for them staying as it is. Some asset
asset
cards you have gained may not be any use any more, and those should be returned to the gamemaster.
gamemaster.
Talents: As well as all their other abilities, you characters also have a set of abilities called Talents.
Talents. Now
you know the rules a little better; it should make more sense to you, as will the others. Take
Take a moment to
review your Talents
Talents to make sure you all understand how they can be used.
Determination, Threat, and Momentum: At the beginning of this Act the Momentum pool begins at 3,
the gamemaster begins with 2 Threat for each player character.
character. All characters retain any Determination
they have already acquired.

SCENE �:
THE MESSENGER
Read aloud:

The thick, polluted air of Giedi Prime, the Harkonnens’ home planet, churns around you, sticking in your
throat, making you cough. Ornithopters land and take off across the landing eld with a droning hum.
The unsettling knowledge that there’s
there’s more going on than you ever realized makes it difcult to concen
concen--
trate. Does your mother, the Countess Nagara, know?
The roar of a frigate’s engines draws your attention. A man with an unnaturally straight posture and a sour
expression on his face approaches you from the ship. With the pomp of the self-important, he hands you
a sealed envelope. “The Countess Nagara has a message for her heir on Giedi Prime. “
Opening the letter you read:
38

“My dear child, CHOAM has reached out to trade with our House. They are looking to to
purchase some of our famed Nagaran goods. You will nd a shipment on this frigate.
This is an opportunity for you to try your hand at large-scale negotiations and learn a
bit about our signature wares. Receive the product shipment, secure it, and negotiate
with Sabrya Zavr, the CHOAM delegate, when she arrives. This trade agreement is
critical to funding our management of Arrakis upon our ofcial arrival. Make sure you
inspect the shipment carefully.
carefully. Work hard. Be vigilant. Negotiations are not as easy as
they seem. And never forget that you are the heir to the noble House Nagara.”

With that, the courier turns

tur ns on his heel and returns to the frigate while huge containers
marked with the crest of House Nagara roll off the ship.
The Countess’ message gives each player 3 Determination each (to a maximum of 3 if they
already have some). This represents her extra support that will make many of their remain-
ing tasks a little easier.

It’s up to the players what to do with the shipment. They can also ask the Harkonnen for advice. Note which
option the players
@ If they ask any of the Harkonnens, the Harkonnens suggest taking the cargo to one of
pick using the tick
their Barony warehouses that they will allow House Nagara to use. While there will be
boxes:
a ’small storage fee’ they insist nowhere will be more secure. This will cost 1 character 1
Determination point, the group should decide who. They can also move their scientists Harkonnen Warehouse
Warehouse
there. Go to Scene 2: Nagaran Wares – Going to the Harkonnen Lab.
@ They can also attempt to secure their own facilities by reaching out to individual Rented Warehous
Warehouse
e
merchants in Barony and renting a location. To do so, they must spend some of House
Nagara’s wealth in the form of 2 Determination (between them, not each). If they do
they can nd a warehouse with an attached laboratory. Go to Scene 2: Nagaran Wares
– Going to Their Own Lab.
SCENE :
NAGARAN WARES
G O I N G T O T H E H A R KO N N E N L A B
Read Aloud:
Taras Nikula, a Captain of House Harkonnen’s infantry, leads you to a series of suspen- Reveal Taras
sor tubes that buzz with activity
activity.. In a bullet train sent through the tube, you shoot Nikula’s card to
across Barony,
Barony, seeing few people roaming the streets through the dense haze that the players.
covers everything. The tube delivers you to the center of the city city,, where you enter
a massive high-rise guarded by men and women in Harkonnen uniforms. Clanks,
thuds, and the sounds of motors moving huge amounts of goods out of the many Note here whether
warehouses stacked on top of each other. The sharp odors of strange chemicals and the players
melted solder make you wrinkle your nose as you pass by the occasional laboratory.
laboratory. choose to turn the
surveillance on or off.
The characters can inspect the warehouse, inside and out. They should now make an Surveillance On
Understand test but you need not tell them the Difculty.
Difculty.
Surveillance Off
@ If they succeed the Understand test at a Difculty of 2, they nd electronic spy-eyes
Active surveillance is
throughout the hallways.
something the Harkonnens
@ If they succeed the Understand test with a Difculty of 4, they also nd hidden spy- can hack into here. But
eyes within the laboratory and warehouse. should the player char-
@ If confronted, Taras Nikula tells them that the Harkonnens take their security very acters need evidence of
seriously and only look at any captured footage if there are concerns. tampering, a deactivated
surveillance system will not
@ The players can ask the Harkonnens to shut off the spy-eyes in the warehouse and laboratory.
record anything for them.
@ If they fail the Understand test the player characters learn nothing.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 39

GOING TO THEIR OWN LAB

Read aloud:
The dull roar of the ornithopter’s engine fades away as the vehicle powers down. You
nd yourself on the very edge of Barony,
Barony, the only place where your people could
nd a suitable location for your goods. The reek of the factory fumes and crowded
populace is slightly less here. Two
Two large buildings, their windows dark and uninviting,
wait for you.

The characters can inspect the warehouse, inside and out.

If the warehouse @ If they decide to check the security of the area they can make an Understand test at
is secured, record Difculty 2. If they succeed they nd that this area is completely unconnected to the
the Trait here by rest of the Barony, but it also has no security. They will need to provide their own.
ticking the box:
@ If they want to set up their own security spy-eyes and listening devices they must make
Warehouse not secure a Move test with a Difculty 2. If they succeed the area gains the Trait ’Secured Ware-
Ware -
house’.
Secured Warehouse
Warehouse
(Trait) Whichever facilities the players pick, continue with:

After a couple of hours, a mixture of Nagaran and Harkonnen laborers have unloaded
the cargo into your warehouse. Massive containers crowd the inside of the vast
Reveal Dr Erika space. Accompanying these containers is DrDr.. Erika Ganio, the lead Nagaran scientist.
Ganio’s character She mutters about her inventory and admonishes the workers to take more care of
card to the players. the containers as she heads toward the laboratory.
Kobus Zaan, the Harkonnen Mentat who accompanied you, looks sternly at the vast
containers, and for a moment regards Dr.
Dr. Ganio with suspicion. “As we know you
have an enemy in House Vernius, it would be remiss of me not to mention that logic
dictates you check your inventory for sabotage.”

The player characters can try to determine if any of the goods were damaged in transit
by attempting an Understand test with a Difculty 2. Alternatively
Alternatively,, a Discipline test with
a Difculty 2 allows them to direct some of their Nagaran aides to nd any damaged
CHOAM
merchandise.
CHOAM stands
for ’Combine @ A successful skill test reveals that some of the stock is damaged. Thankfully not badly
Honnete Ober and it can be repaired by Dr. Ganio while they negotiate.
Advancer Mercantiles’.
@ If the characters fail their skill test or do not attempt this skill test at all , they notice
This organization is made
nothing wrong with the shipment.
of representatives and
businesspeople from
the noble Houses. It SCENE :
controls all commerce in
the Empire. This includes
THE NEGOTIATION
Nagaran commodities, Read aloud:
Harkonnen arms, and
With the cargo safely stowed it is time to negotiate a price with the CHOAM
melange from Arrakis.
representative. Kobus Zaan escorts you to the grand Harkonnen dining hall. It is a
dim room lit by chandeliers of glowglobes oating near the top of the vaulted ceil -
ings. The seats and table are made of cold, expensive blackplaz. The entire place
exudes a feeling of industrial efciency. With no tapestries to mufe any noise,
voices echo off the glossy walls like melancholy ghosts. Though the food looks and
smells appealing, it has the appearance of something manufactured, as opposed to
crafted by an artisan.
Kobus Zaan glances around the dining hall. “It appears the CHOAM delegate is not
here, yet. Do you have any questions before you begin your negotiations?”
40

The players may have questions about the whole situation, things that their characters are
should already know:
@ What is CHOAM?
CHOAM is the Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles. They control all
commerce in the Empire, including Nagaran commodities, Harkonnen arms, and
melange from Arrakis.

@ What do you know of Sabrya Zavr?

She was recently

it comes promoted
to the quality of thetogoods
her position within CHOAM.
she negotiates for.
for. She is very strict when

@ What are the Nagaran products used for?

Nagaran-made goods are known for their high quality and effectiveness. You
You can
nd Nagaran devices found throughout the Imperium. And your House alone
controls the secrets to their technology.

@ What are our options?

Sabrya Zavr wants as much of your shipment as she can get for the lowest price.
You
You need to convince her it is worth buying
buying for a high price.
price. But be careful
careful not to
push the price so high she walks away from the table. Ideally you must convince
her that despite the cost you are asking her to pay, she is getting a valuable
cargo that can be sold for much more.

When the characters are ready to proceed with negotiations, read the following:
With a quiet hiss, the dining hall door opens. A woman strides in and greets you. She
holds out her hand. “I am Sabrya Zavr. I look forward to negotiating a deal with you.”
Sabrya Zavr has bright, intelligent eyes and a passion for bartering. She wants a good
deal and will undoubtedly push to get her way. With the backing of CHOAM, she has
a lot of leverage, and she’s
she’s not afraid to use it.
Negotiating with Sabrya will be a conict. If you can win the conict, you will have got
the best price you can for your goods from her. But if you lose, she will have con-
con-
vinced you to allow her to pay less than the market value. While you have the goods,
she is better aware of the price they might command in the Imperium as a whole. She
can also leverage House Nagara’s
Nagara’s need for inuence within CHOAM to push down Reveal Sabrya
your price as a favor to her. Zavr’s card to the
players, but only
Conict involves bringing assets into play and using them to grant the leverage
the picture side as the
required for victory,
victory, be it an intrigue, negotiation, or a knife ght. The Difculty of the
players will not know her
tests involved will not depend on a set number but the result of an opponents’ dice
skills.
roll, in this case, Sabrya’s as it is a contested test.
Reveal the
The zone map shows you the battleground you face in the negotiation.
Negotiation Map
Sabrya has three zones, representing the approaches you can take to convince her to the players and
char m her using Communicate, you might
to make a favorable deal. You can try and charm place it on the table. Put
hold to your price and try to wear her down using Discipline, or you might try to the three Nagaran Wares
confuse her with gures using Understand. and the three CHOAM
Inuence asset cards in the
Each player also has a zone, and each of you should place your character card in the
central zone of the map.
correct zone as a marker. The zones are all the same so don’t worry which you start in.
Any unoccupied player zones will not be used. Place each character card
All these zones are linked by the central zone, the ’negotiation zone’ all the assets in in its starting zone.
play begin there, representing what each side has brought to the table and intends to
use in the negotiation.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 41

You have three assets

You assets in play,
play, called ’Nagaran Wares’ which each represent
represent a third of
of
your wares. Take
Take those cards and place them in that zone.
Sabrya also has three assets called ’CHOAM Leverage’. Take those cards and place
them in the central zone as well.
You must try and move
You move each of your Nagaran
Nagaran Wares
Wares assets into one of Sabrya’
Sabrya’ss zones
and defeat her in a challenge to reach a price. Fail the challenge and she will have
talked you into a bad price. Hopefully,
Hopefully, one of these areas is her weak spot, but you
won’t know until you have challenged her.
I will be playing Sabrya, who will be trying to drive each of you out of the negotiation.
If she can move one of her CHOAM Inuence assets into your zone, she can initiate a
challenge to drive you from the negotiating table. If all of you are driven out Sabrya
will have forced a very bad price on you as a group for all your goods, no matter what
you have already negotiated!
But before you sit down to negotiate, a messenger arrives with a worried looking
Dr. Ganio and whispers something in Sabrya’s ear. She smiles slyly at the news she is
being given.
“As per our agreement my technical staff have inspected the merchandise and they
have found some items are not the quality we were expecting. I hope you are pre-
pared to compensate for this decit in your negotiations.”

@ If the damaged merchandise was discovered read the following:

While you were hoping the damage wouldn’t be detected, you have prepared
for this moment. With Dr. Ganio’s help you explain that there was some minor
transit damage to a few items but they are all in full working order. Even Sabrya’s
technicians are forced to admit the repairs are perfectly ne. However,
However, it seems a
minor skirmish must occur before the real negotiations begin.

One of the player characters must make a Communicate test, Difculty 3, but the
other characters can all assist.
@ If they succeed Sabrya has to accept the merchandise is good and no further will

be said.
@ If they fail Sabrya will insist some of the merchandise is substandard and not worth
full price. Mark one of the Nagaran Wares cards as noted in the direction sidebar.
Mark one of the
@ If the damaged merchandise was not discovered, read the following:
Nagaran Wares
assets (either with The news catches you off guard, and a mortied Dr.Dr. Ganio hurriedly explains she
a pen or a paperclip) to only found the problems as the CHOAM inspectors began their search. However,
However,
distinguish it. Any tests she believes the faulty items can be repaired with a little time. Unfortunately,
Unfortunately, the
with that particular asset damage is already done and Sabrya will clearly use this to her advantage unless
will be one Difculty you can mollify her a little.
higher for any and all tests.
One of the player characters must make a Communicate test Difculty 3, but the
Tick the box if appropriate
other characters can all assist.
Damaged Merchandise: @ If they succeed Sabrya has to accept the merchandise can be repaired but she

won’t make negotiations easy. Any attempt to actually sell anything to her has the
+1 Difculty when
Difculty increased by 1. Tick the Damaged Merchandise box, but you need not
attempting to sell any
mark any of the cards as the penalty applies to all of them.
Nagaran Wares
@ If they fail they have to work hard just to keep Sabrya at the negotiating table.
Remove one of the Nagaran Wares assets, and mark that it has sold for a bad price
(see later) before you even start the conict!
42

Take a moment to complete the set up for the negotiations and make sure everyone REMEMBER
knows what to do. The gamemaster will control Sabrya’s attempts to negotiate; the YOUR ABILITIES
ABILITIES
players will each perform actions for their character. While a conict may
be new to the group,
Read or paraphrase the following to detail the rules of the negotiation conict. Once
it still involves skill
everyone is happy they understand the rules of the conict you can begin:
tests. As such, Talents,
Momentum and every-
ORDER OF ACTION
thing else can still be
@ Each player may take one action each turn. Sabrya (due to her experience) may
used as normal.
take two.
While a quick vic-
@ The players’ side goes rst with one player taking an action. Then play moves to
tory may be a worthy
Sabrya’s side for her to take her rst action. Play then returns to the players’ side for
goal, taking time to
a different player to take an action. This continues to alternate until one side runs
build Momentum and
out of actions (whereupon any remaining characters on the opposing side can each
gather a good dice
take their remaining actions in any order) until no one has any actions left.
pool may lead to a
@ Which player acts on the players’ turn is up to the group but no one can act twice. more assured victory
in the long term.
@ Either side can ’Keep the Initiative’ if they spend 2 Momentum or Threat. In this
case play remains with their side and if that side has a character that can act they
may do so. Keeping the initiative does not grant any additional actions, it just lets
one side take two in a row.

ACTIONS
On your turn you may do one of two things:
@ Move an asset
@ Use an asset

If you move an asset you may move it subtly or boldly:

@ If you move it boldly you are trying to provoke your opponent into a hasty action.

Make a test at Difculty 2 and if you succeed you may move one of your assets
(Nagaran Wares) to a connected zone from its current one, and move one of your
opponent’s assets (CHOAM Inuence) to a zone connected to its current one.
@ If you move subtly, you are making a clever plot to grant you an opportunity. Make
a test at Difculty 2 and if you succeed you may move one of your assets to a zone
connected to its current one. If you choose to keep the initiative the cost of doing
so is reduced to 0.
@ The test to move an asset depends on the conict. As this is a negotiation, all
such tests are made using Communicate. The Drive is up to each player and
they should maintain the same for one all tests in the conict for the sake of ease.
Focuses may be applied if they pertain to negotiation and diplomacy, or even
intimidation.
If you use an asset you are attempting to make a direct attack on your opponent to win
the conict, having placed your assets in a key tactical position. An asset can only be
usefully used in this negotiation if it is in one of Sabrya’s zones or that of a player character
character..
To use an asset:
@ Both the acting character and the subject of the zone the asset is in must make a

test. Instead of comparing the results to a Difculty, the character with the most
successes in their result wins the challenge. If there is a draw the subject of the
zone is the winner.
@ If the subject of the zone wins the challenge the attack is repelled. The asset
remains where it is and nothing else happens.
@ If the owner of the asset wins the challenge they have defeated the subject of the zone.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 43

Mark which wares

USING NAGARAN WARES
sold for good or
Tests against Sabrya to make a deal on the wares are made using the skill named on
bad prices as you
the zone in question by both parties in a contested test.
go. Do the same for any
player characters removed @ If a player character wins Sabyra accepts a good price for the Nagaran Wares asset
from the negotiations. and it is removed from the table.
Nagaran Wares 1 @ If Sabrya wins the player characters have accepted a bad price for the Nagaran
wares and that asset is removed from the table. It is handed to the players as the
Good Price
Complication detailed on its reverse.
Bad Price
@ If one of the wares is marked or if the player characters failed to convince Sabrya
Nagaran Wares 2 the repairs were good the Difculty to do this is one higher.
Good Price
USING CHOAM INFLUENCE
Bad Price Tests to remove player characters are made using Communicate by both parties in a
contested test. Such tests can be made only when a CHOAM Inuence card is in the
Nagaran Wares 3
same zone as a player character’s card.
Good Price
@ If a player character wins Sabyra must remove the CHOAM inuence asset from
Bad Price the table.
Characters Removed @ If Sabrya wins the player character has been driven from the negotiations and they
may no longer act. Remove their character card from the zone map. Sabrya’s CHOAM
Shizu Nagara
inuence asset remains.

Jiro Nagara ASSISTANCE

ASSISTANCE
Zar Callas
@ Player characters may not assist each other when attempting to move an asset. But up to
Natalia Khan three player characters who are in play can assist anyone using an asset against Sabrya.
Alice Dominica
OUTCOMES
The negotiation ends when all the Nagaran wares assets, or all the player characters
are removed from the board.
 SABRYA ZAVR
CHOAM Negotiator, (Notable Supporting Character) DRIVE S TAT E M E N T
Sabrya is an experienced diplomat and despite her 7
DUTY:
love of style and courtly graces she is every bit the
hardnosed businesswoman.
businesswoman. While she respects the 6
FAITH:
player characters as nobles, she also thinks they will
be inexperienced and naïve. It will be up to them 5
J U ST I CE :
to prove her wrong.
During all tests Sabrya will use her Power Drive POWER: 8 Winning is what matters.
unless she is unable to.
T RU T H : 4
Traits: Diplomat, Arrogant

TALENTS
SKILL FOCUSES
@ Dedication: If there is no Threat at the start

of a scene, Sabrya may roll 1d20 under her BATTLE: 4

Discipline to gain 1 Threat.
COMMUNICATE: 7 Negotiation
Assets: CHOAM Inuence
Inuence

DISCIPLINE: 5

MOVE: 5

UNDERSTAND: 6

The gamemaster should record how many of the Nagaran Wares are sold for a good Each Nagaran
price or a bad price. They should also record if the player characters are all removed Ware that sells
from the negotiation (and therefore receive a bad price for all their wares). badly has one of
these Traits on the reverse.
For each Nagaran Wares asset that gets a good price, two player characters may gain
1 Determination point. Which player characters get a point is up to the group, but no On a good sale the
character may have more than a total of 3 Determination. gamemaster takes the
cards and grants a
For each Nagaran Ware that goes for a bad price the group gain one of the following Traits:
Determination point.
@ Failed Negotiators

@ Naïve Diplomats On a bad sale the

@ Badly Trained gamemaster gives the
player that Nagaran Ware
card as the Trait to the
At the end of the negotiation conict,
conict , read the following aloud:
player characters.
Having completed your rst galactic negotiations, you have made a connection to the
Landsraad, the great council of Houses Major.
Major. Hopefully it is a good one. Whatever
the result, you have learned a few lessons in the art of negotiation that will no doubt
be useful as future leaders of House Nagara.

Take a break to talk about how the conict went and any problems you came up
against. The players can discuss in character how the negotiations went. They may want
to touch on:
@ What they’ve learned about their own House, the Countess, and the goods that their

House manufactures.
@ What they’ve learned about CHOAM, the organization, and Sabrya Zavr.
@ Who their allies are and who they can trust.
@ What they believe is in their future.
@ What they plan to do with their new resources.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 45

A C T I I , P A RT 
H A R KO N N E N M A N A G E M E N T
To continue their education, their Harkonnen allies decide Objectives:
to show the player characters one of their weapons factories @ Visit one
one of House Harko
Harkonnen’
nnen’s fact
factories
ories on Gie
Giedi
di
and how they run it. They notice that the factory is not very Prime.
safe for the workers. After their initial tour a horrible acci- @ Learn how the Harkonnens view their workers and

dent claims at least one life. Tensions boil over and a group preside over their people.
of workers lead a revolt that the characters must deal with @ Halt a worker rebellion.

through violence or negotiation.

SCENE �:
SWORD AND SHIELD
Read aloud:
“You’ve done well for House Nagara. Sabrya Zavr is not one of CHOAM’s easiest delegates to work with.
She even makes many a Mentat nervous.” Kobus Zaan chuckles as he approaches you. “In fact, the Baron
Harkonnen thinks you are ready for an even bigger test.”
He ushers you to a private car waiting in a thrumming suspensor tube, where you speed off through the
transparent tracks.
Ahead of you, thick, black smoke billows into the air from a large building. The hiss of steam and the
clank of machinery penetrates even the transport tube. As you step from the vehicle, heat and the dis-
tinct fumes of metal manufacturing blast you in the face.
Kobus Zaan gestures toward the building. “Today, you will experience how this factory runs and how we
increase efciency.
efciency. As this is a secure facility your troops can stay behind and guard your shipment while
we await its collection for CHOAM.”

At this point, the players may have some questions:

@ What does this factory make?

”It’s a local weapons factory that manufactures stunners, dartguns, and kindjals.”
”It’s

@ Why did our House Nagara troops stay behind?

“This factory
sufcient. is well-established
Besides, the Countessand in the
would notmiddle of Barony,
be happy Barony , so our
if anything Harkonnen
happened troops
to the shouldofare
shipment goods
she gave you. Trust me on this.”

@ What kind of efciencies does this factory need?

“Based upon the latest production reports, this factory’s output has decreased slightly and not kept
up with the gains in efciencies that other, similar factories have seen.”

Have the players attempt a Communicate test with a Difculty 4 here. A success reveals that Kobus Zaan
is hiding something from them, but they cannot tell what. In fact he is hiding just how brutal the way the
Harkonnen run their factories is, so he can see how they react.
Once the players are ready to move on, read the following:
Pointing out the different types of machinery and assembly processes, Kobus Zaan takes you through the
factory.
@ Have the players attempt a Difculty 2 Understand test. If they succeed, read the following (if they fail they
notice nothing unusual, skip to the next test):
46

You notice very few safety protocols

You protocols in place. As you tour the factory,
factory, open vats
of chemicals cause your eyes to tear up and your lungs to seize. You don’t see
any kind of monitoring or protective equipment used by any of the workers. YouYou
see dangerous hazards of all varieties around every corner.

@ Give the players a Difculty 3 Communicate test. If the players succeed, read the fol-
lowing (if they fail they notice nothing unusual, skip to the next part):
Several of the workers turn away from you as you enter their section of the fac-
tory. Others narrow their eyes at you, challenging your authority silently. There’s
an unsettling tension in the air
air..

At this point, Kobus Zaan takes the players to a busy area of the factory. Read aloud:
Superheated metal bubbles and hisses in a massive vat suspended above the factory oor.
Workers use chains and pulleys attached to the giant tank to tilt it, pouring the molten
liquid into molds for weapon bodies and parts. Steam and smoke choke the air. You are
glad when Zaan declares you have seen all the important parts of the factory oor.
“Now that the tour is done, you can interview some of the laborers. Please meet Xav
Camran and Colrin Bentlix.” Kobus Zaan gestures for the two to join you, pulling
them away from their positions manning huge pieces of industrial equipment.
Reveal Xav
Xav Camran is tall with a powerful frame. She refuses to meet your eyes, perhaps a
Camran’s
sign she is timid. She chooses her words carefully and stutters when she responds. Xav
is clearly trying not to lie, but is also phrasing her answers as diplomatically as possible. character card.
Reveal Colrin
Colrin Bentlix is a lanky fellow with a mop of brown hair. He seems to want to lash
Bentlix’s character
out at you and at Kobus Zaan, but barely keeps himself in check. Colrin has a dismiss-
card.
ive, disdainful attitude, but also looks at you with a timid form of hope.

@ If the characters may want to chat with them. Here are some options for discussion:
@ What do you do here?

Xav – “I haul the scraps of metal that don’t make it into the molds back to the
supply room where they can be sorted and melted down again for re-use.”
Colrin – “I direct the molten metal into the molds.”

@ How do you think efciency can be improved?

Xav – “That’s not something I think about.”

Colrin – “Maybe make sure the machinery is maintained so it doesn’t break
all the time. Or maybe don’t...”
@ Kobus Zaan will interrupt Colrin and encourage him to move on.

@ Do you like working here?

Xav – “This is what I do. ’Liking’ it is not something we think about.”
Colrin – “I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”
@ If the players press, Kobus Zaan will interrupt and ask them to move on.

@ Where are the safety protocols?

Xav – (Looks around suspiciously.) “We’ve never had those as far as I know.”
Colrin – “That’s…
“That’s… not… no… we’re perfectly safe.”
Kobus Zaan – “Our safety protocols are implemented at a higher level, so
that the workers don’t have to worry about them.”
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 47

@ Why is it so tense in here?

Xav – “I don’t know what you mean.”
Colrin – (Says nothing, looking at Kobus Zaan.)
Kobus Zaan – “Are you sensing tension? That’s typical for work like this, but
let me assure you that our worker’s safety is taken care of fully.”

Once the characters have nished speaking with the laborers, read the following:

With an ear-piercing squeal, the supports holding up the reservoir of smelted metal
snap and break. The scalding liquid gushes out in a boiling ood. Before you can
react, the melted metal surges over the two workers. The stench of burning esh lls
the air. Screams
Screams rise from all corners of the factory oor. The workers scramble over
each other as they ee.

The players should all make a Difculty 3 Move test. None of them can assist, they must
each make the test.
Each player @ Those who fail become injured. Add the ’Painful Burns
Bur ns X’ Trait, with X representing
should note this how many successes they fell short of success (how many fewer than 3 they got). As
Trait on their own Trait has a number it adjusts Difculty levels by that number (X)! If they succeed,
this Trait
character sheet and its they avoid injury.
value for X.
@ They can try to save Xav or Colrin but only one of them. If they succeed at a Move
test with a Difculty 5 they can pick one to save, tear up the other character card. If
Tear up the cards they fail, tear up both cards.
of those they fail
Once you tear up the cards, read the following:
to save.
Cries and sobs tear at your resolve. Many of the workers suffer from burns or were
trampled trying to escape.
Kobus Zaan wrinkles his nose and sighs. “I don’t think we’re going to get much work
done today.
today. Come with me to the administrative ofces. We can at least look through
the factory numbers and records.”
Kobus adds that you can receive medical treatment in the administrative ofces. But
he shows little or no concern for the injured workers.

@ If the player characters ignore the workers and follow Kobus move to the next

section (Scene 2).

@ If the player characters stop to try to help the injured workers they must attempt an
Understand test with a Difculty 3.

Give the players @ If they succeed, they gain the trait ’Impressed by Nagaran Compassion’ regarding
the Impressed the Harkonnen workers. If they fail their efforts go unappreciated in the carnage.
by Nagara
When they catch up with Kobus read the following:
Compassion Trait card.
“That was unnecessary,”
unnecessary,” Kobus Zaan scolds you. “We must allow our workers to be
It will grant a 1 step reduc-
independent and self-sufcient if we want them to be most effective.”
tion in the Difculty of
social interaction with the But you saw the gratitude in their eyes…
Harkonnen workers.
You follow Kobus
You Kobus into the spartan
spartan administrative ofces.
ofces. As you enter an aide hurries
in and whispers in Kobus Zaan’s ear before rushing out the door.
He turns to you. “It appears that you will get more of a lesson today than any of us
thought. A group of anarchists have taken over part of the factory. How do you think
this violence should be dealt with, Nagara?”
48

SCENE :
REBELLION
Read aloud:

As Harkonnen medics, none of whom have the Suk diamond tattoo on their fore-
heads, attend you, the screams of the workers ring in your ears. Kobus seems
unmoved, and instead is studying a ragged piece of paper that an aide has fearfully
handed him. As a mentat he has memorised the words in an instant, but you can see
his mind is calculating alternatives and probabilities as he considers every pattern.
Finally he turns to you. “Well, you have been given an opportunity for advanced
training that we did not anticipate. Let us see how you lead when insurrection, vio-
lence, and lives are on the line. These rebels have dared to give House Harkonnen
a list of demands. I’ll leave it to you to settle the matter
matter.. But remember, your perfor-
mance will be considered part of your training assessment.” Give the players
the Rebellion
@ If anyone received an injury, they get brusque and functional Harkonnen medical treat - Demands
ment. However it still reduces the Painful Burns Trait by 1 or down to 2 (whichever is handout.
better).
REBELLION DEMANDS
Give the players time to study the rebels’ demands. They can then ask Kobus any
The letter from the
questions they have about the situation. The following are suggestions:
rebelling workers reads as
@ Can we improve safety?
follows:
“We must consider the protability of the factory and its goods. The occasional
casualty is unfortunate, but minimal amends to any family the worker may have There
can doistonous,
more you
so we
are built into the budgets. Renovating the entire factory would require a substan-
have nothing to lose.
tial investment outside the current plans.”
We have taken several
@ What are the workers paid now? hostages in the hope
there are some people
“The workers receive housing and food. We try to employ those who are single
in this factory you care
and have small or no families to save on costs.”
about. But if all you
care about is prot,
@ Can a doctor see the workers?
know that we have
“We do not have that kind of expense budgeted for this
t his factory.
factory. It also depends ceased all production
on what kind of medical profession
professional
al they want to see. A Suk-trained doctor is and we will sabotage
out of the question.” the machines to make
this place useless to
@ What does Kobus and House Harkonnen think about this situation? you for years if our
demands are not met.
“These ’rebels’ are anarchist malcontents, led by a man named Callum Ruta. We
see this kind of protest crop up every so often. House Harkonnen recommends All we want is for basic
controlling the workers with a rm display of power and quashing the mutiny safety systems to be
using whatever means necessary. We can provide weapons or some resources for installed and medi-
the course of action you decide upon.” cal aid for the injured.
Give us this and we will
@ What about negotiating with the workers? return to work. Further
violence will only cost
“You
“You will have to nd their leader Callum Ruta, but be careful. They won’t negoti-
negoti-
you both time and
ate anywhere they do not have the advantage. Firm negotiations without acqui-
prot. — Callum Ruta
escing to all demands is a satisfactory alternative. If you go this route, remember
to keep our prots and budgets as your highest priority. Having a factory like this
operating at a loss will make us appear weak to our subjects and our peers.”
Characters
The characters can choose to follow Kobus Zaan’s recommendation and attack the rebels, receive medical
or they can try to negotiate with the rebels. Whichever option they choose to use, it is a
attention. Reduce
conict we will resolve in the next scene.
Painful Burns Trait by 1 or
down to 2.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 49

SCENE :
F A C T O RY C O N F L I C T
Read aloud:

The rebels have spread out across the factory, a place they are intimately familiar with.
They have destroyed security cameras and know the best places to hide in wait for an
ambush. But you know that if you can get to Callum Ruta and either kill him or convince
Reveal the him to stand down, the rest might follow. But rst you need to draw up a battle plan.
Factory Combat
map and place it
The players now make a Difculty 0 Battle test , with one character making the roll
on the table.
and the others assisting. For each success they gain, place one of the worker or decoy
Place the player charac- cards face down in any zone except the administrative ofces. Multiple cards can be
ter’s cards in the adminis- placed on the same space. These represent the intelligence they have received about
trative ofces zone. the rebel forces.
Take the Six ’Worker The worker gang marked as ’Callum Ruta’s gang’ is the one containing Callum Ruta and is
Gang’ cards, the three the player character’s objective. But it should be placed like any other card.
’Decoy’ cards, and Callum
Ruta’s card and place them @ If the players roll more successes than you have cards, reveal and remove one Decoy
as directed next. card for each remaining success. If there are still successes remaining, allow the players
to choose one card to ip face up for each remaining success.
HARKONNEN
@ If you have cards remaining (that are not Decoys) you may place and reveal those on
WORKERS
the map in any zone the players move to as soon as they move there. Once on the
Target
Number - 13 map they are treated like any other card. These represent further groups of workers the
player’ss survey did not discover.
player’
Tell the players that each card represents either a decoy, a gang of workers, or Callum
Standard 2d20 dice pool
Ruta. But they will have to investigate to nd out which.
Gamemaster may increase
Read aloud:
with Threat as usual.
This conict will work in the same way as the negotiation, but with different assets
and objectives.
You begin in the administrative
You administrative ofces, and somewhere
somewhere in the factory is the rebellion
leader Callum Ruta and several gangs of armed rebel workers.
We will take it in turns to make moves and use assets. The workers are my assets,
your character cards are your own. You can stay together for safety or spread out to
have a better chance of nding Ruta.
The conict works just as before. You must make a Difculty 2 Move test to move
your character (asset) to another adjacent zone either subtly or boldly. If you succeed
you may reveal all the cards in the zone you enter
enter.. If you fail you are unable to move.
Revealed cards are turned face up and are never turned face down again. Unrevealed
cards cannot be moved by players.
If you ’use an asset’ in a zone your character can initiate either a ght or a negotiation
with the workers. If you ght, you make a test using Battle, if you negotiate you use
Communicate.
If you win either test the card is removed from play, either defeated or convinced to
stand down. All these tests are contested tests and the workers have a target number
of 13 for all tests.
Any character in the same zone can assist for either type of test by giving up their
action for that turn.
50

If you fail the test the workers attack you and you suffer a point of damage from the
conict, and the worker card remains on the map. This is a point towards the require-
require-
ment to defeating you and when you have as many points as your Battle skill you are
defeated and removed from the conict.
On my turn I can move any card I have not yet moved by one zone (with no test).
Cards that enter a zone occupied by a player character are automatically revealed.
Instead of moving I can pick a zone with a revealed worker gang. All player characters
in that zone must make a Difculty 3 Battle test or suffer a point of damage towards
defeat. Each card may only attack or move once per turn.

@ If the players are all defeated, tear up Callum Ruta’s character card and read aloud:
As the mob of angry workers heads your way, the coordinated tromp of boots
distracts you. Harkonnen troops, armed with stunners and shields, begin to take
down the rebels with brutal efciency. Electric zaps and pained screams reach
your ears. The bitter reek of burnt hair invades your nose.
In a few short minutes, it is over.
over. You pick out the one called Callum Ruta among
the bodies lying on the ground, his eyes open and staring as if disbelief.
“This is how one handles a mutiny,” Kobus Zaan states, his face utterly devoid of
emotion.

@ If Callum Ruta’s card is revealed and one or more player characters are in the same
zone, read the following:

Rounding another series of iron and steel machinery you nd yourselves face
to face with Callum Ruta. Tied up near them are several supervisors who look
frightened for their lives but are otherwise alive. Callum and his supporters look
broken by years working for the Harkonnen, but they are not defeated. They look
desperate, and all grip heavy metal tools as they step towards you, but perhaps
there is still a way to end this situation peacefully.

The players should now decide if they should negotiate for peace or try to kill
way.. They must decide to use either Battle or
Callum Ruta and end the rebellion that way
Communicate, but not both. Only characters in this zone can participate in the test.

The Difculty for both tests is 4 as desperation and a lack of faith in the Harkonnens

makes both
test with armed struggle
a requirement of 6.and diplomacy
There extremely
will be time difcult.
for three Eitherthe
rolls before testHarkonnens
is an extended
arrive and take control of the situation, probably with violence.
@ If the player characters choose Communicate and have the Trait ’Impressed by
Nagaran Compassion’ a Communicate test Difculty is reduced by 1. It is reduced Defeating a
by another 1 level if no worker gangs have been removed from the map with a Battle player is an
test by any player character. extended test
with a requirement of their
@ If the player characters choose Battle and have the Trait ’Impressed by Nagara’s com-
Battle skill. If any player
passion’ the Difculty of their rst Battle test is reduced by 2 as they catch Callum’s
Callum’s
accumulates this many
people by surprise. This modier only applies to the rst test of the ght though.
damage points they are
If they have removed half of the Worker Gang cards from the map through Battle
too injured to continue.
the Difculty of the test is reduced by 1 for the whole test as the legacy of brutality
worthy of the Harkonnens is enough to demoralize the rebels.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 51

If either the @ If Callum Ruta’s Gang is defeated with a Communicate test read the following:
Battle or
Callum Ruta looks you in the eye and reaches out, grasping your ngers in an
Communicate
Imperial handshake. “House Nagara has my respect.” Without anyone the wiser
wiser,,
test against Callum was
he slips several tiny pieces of paper into your hand.
successful give the player
characters the Callum’s As Kobus and several troops arrive you stand between their guns and your new
Message card. allies. “We’ve resolved the issue. The workers will go back to work and we have
given our word that certain safety features will be installed here and medical atten-
It reads ’Beware Nagara,
tion will be given to the injured. No further action will be taken from either side.”
Zaan cannot be trusted.’
Kobus is clearly lled with both rage and disbelief. But before he can answer you
say “We have given our word as House Nagara. If you dare make us liars and
break our word, kanly will dictate our response.”
Kobus clearly detests the position you have put him in but he has no choice. He
waves his men away and grudgingly agrees to your arrangement, but he is clearly
already plotting some form of retribution.

@ If Callum Ruta’s Gang is defeated with a Battle test read the following:

As Kobus and the Harkonnen troops arrive they nd they are too late for further
bloodshed. Kobus Zaan nods in approval. “Well done, Nagara. You have the
 At the end of this
battle prowess necessary for a member of the Landsraad. I wasn’t sure you would
section note how
do what was required. I’ve instructed our House troops to single out a few more
it was resolved:
insurrectionists and make an example of them. Ruta’s body will also make a ne
deterrent for any more troublemakers.” His gaze rakes over the defeated rebels. Battle
“I think you’ll make a ne House leader, after all.”
Communicate
As they drag the bodies away you notice a few scraps of paper fall from Callum’s
Callum’s
Zaan
lifeless ngers, unnoticed by the Harkonnen.

@ If Callum Ruta defeats the players in either test , tear up Callum Ruta’s character card
and read the following:
The coordinated tromp of dozens of boots comes closer and closer. Harkon-
nen troops, armed with stunners and shields, stream through the door and beat
Callum Ruta and his associates with brutal efciency. His pained grunts and the
wet splash of his blood hitting the oor reaches your ears. The bitter reek of
burnt hair invades your nose.
“This is how one handles a mutiny,” Kobus Zaan states as he directs his troops to
stop any other mutinous intentions. “House Nagara must unlearn this softness if
you are to survive.”
 sCeNe �:

R E T U R N T O B A RO N Y
Read aloud:

The ornithopter’s motors hum around you as you leave the factory. Turo Imshel and Niran Rani have
arrived to join you and hear about your performance. They, along with Kobus Zaan, sit across from you in
the small cabin. The air is frosty to say the least.
Niran crosses his arms and barks at you, “So, how do you think that went?”
Turo puts his hands out. “Perhaps, we should analyze the outcome with a little more objectivity. This is a
good lesson to discuss.”
Kobus Zaan studies the dark, hazy skies outside the windows.

The players may want to discuss the recent events with the Harkonnen advisers. Niran Rani and Turo
Turo Imshel
defer to Kobus Zaan.
@ What will happen to the factory now?
@ If the players negotiated a peaceful resolution:
“Unfortunately,, a new set of mutineers attacked, and we had to halt all work in the
Kobus Zaan – “Unfortunately
factory.. It was a total loss. Materials, resources, everything.”
factory

@ If the players killed the revolutionaries:

Kobus Zaan – “The Harkonnen security team did a sweep and found plans for another attack.
They determined that the factory is too much of a liability.
liability. It was a total loss.”

@ What would the Harkonnens have done?

Kobus Zaan – “House Harkonnen would place all the workers in the slave complex that dominates the
center of Barony to prevent the idea of insurrection from spreading. We would interrogate any participants,
then execute them. We would bring in new workers from other factories, as we will have to do, regardless.”

@ Are all the factories like this?

Kobus Zaan – “Like what? Efcient?”

@ How do you feel about Nagara managing Arrakis?

Kobus Zaan – “We recommend you adopt our style of ruling. The Fremen and other workers on Arra-
kis are even more disobedient and insubordinate than the docile occupants of Giedi Prime.”

When you are ready to continue , read the following:

Silence falls upon the group, the thrum of the ornithopter’

ornithopter’ss motors the only sound.
After you arrive at Harkonnen Keep, Kobus Zaan lifts his chin. “That is all for today. You
You should rest and
recuperate. After all, that was an intense exercise.” He bows and gestures down the long, glowglobe-lit
hallways toward the residential part of the keep.
The dim, industrial designs of the Harkonnen manor surround you as you head to your rooms.

This is a good time to have the players reect on the experiences of the day and their perspectives.
If the players distrust the Harkonnen enough to decide to search their rooms, a successful Understand test with a Difculty
2 reveals a listening device and a spy-eye just outside the door of their rooms, but inside each room seems clear.
Encourage the players to decide if their characters agree or disagree with the Harkonnens.
If any character still has the Painful Burns Trait it is reduced by another point. If it is reduced to 0 it is removed. If it
is not reduced to o it will reduce by another point at the end of Part 3 and be removed at the end of Act II.
54

A C T I I , P A RT 
S A B O TAG E
The player characters to return to their laboratory to see Objectives:
how things are progressing and discover their equipment is @ Help the scientists determine why their equipment is

behaving strangely.
strangely. After helping the scientists, they discover malfunctioning.
that it was no accident but sabotage. An investigation reveals @ Find evidence of sabotage.

that one of the lab technicians, Kira Jaro, is a plant. Once @ Discover that the sabotage was a distraction for a member

she’ss caught, Kira Jaro will challenge the characters to a duel.

she’ of a rival House to steal Nagaran technology.
They may face her in combat or interrogate her. In the end, @ Find the two minimic lms as evidence of House Vernius’

they will discover that someone is not only trying to hinder involvement.
their preparations for Arrakis, but also out to steal Nagaran
technology.

SCENE �:
MELANGE, MINING, AND MALFUNCTIONS
Read aloud: Threat and
Momentum
As you enter the doors to the laboratory, Dr. Erika Ganio rushes over to you, her eyes
reminder:
wide and worried. The usually unappable scientist ails her hands as she says, “As
you know, we’ve been working on a new type of spice extraction unit. But the tests are Remember you can make
coming back with strange readings. I… I don’t know what they mean. It’s very odd.” Difculty ratings 1 step
harder for the player
She pushes through several doors and guides you to the huge extraction unit, sus-
characters by spending 2
pended over a large test bed of spice layered sand. Tendrils
Tendrils of stinking smoke curl
Threat. You can also buy
up from the motors and extractors and a smell of burnt cinnamon and ozone lls the
extra dice for your non-
room. Lights ash. Alarms blare. The power supply sparks with the strain.
player characters (NPCs)
Dr. Ganio puts a trembling hand on your arm. “I’m a chemist, not a technician. What
Dr. just like the players can.
do you suggest we do?”
If they have run out of
Momentum, the play-
@ If the characters want, they can ask Dr. Ganio about the situation: ers can give you Threat
@ How long has this been going on? instread.
“It just started! We thought things were going well...” Unlike Momentum, the

@ What do you recommend? Threat

mum, so pool
if ithas no maxi-up
is building
a little it might be time to
“The only thing we haven’t done is to try detaching it from the power supply
spend it.
and shutting off the main power switch. We didn’t want to risk the amount
of spice inside, being sorted from the sand through an electrical process. It’s
It’s
dangerous to get that close and could cause an even worse malfunction. I
didn’t want to take the risk. Maybe you can think of something we haven’t... I
don’t know what to do! We’re at our wits’ end here!”

At this point, the characters have several options. They can try to:
@ Fix the machine themselves with an Understand test with a Difculty 3. Any Talents or

Focuses related to machinery or technology will apply.

@ Detach the machine from the power supply with a Move test with a Difculty 2. That
allows the characters to shut off the main power switch without getting shocked.
@ Inspire Dr. Ganio and her subordinates into identifying the problem and rectify it with
a Discipline test with a Difculty 2.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 55

If the characters succeed, a power surge blows a system and the laboratory goes dark,
but the equipment survives.
If the player If the characters fail, the machine discharges a huge electrical arc, overloading its power
characters fail tick supply, and injures Dr. Ganio. The equipment is also, of course, badly damaged.
both the boxes
below to note the traits SCENE :
now in effect:
S E A R C H I N G F O R S A B O TAG E
Ganio Injured
Read aloud:
Any tasks she assists
Dr
Dr.. Ganio looks you in the eye and asserts, “My team didn’t cause this. Someone
with will now be 1
tampered with our work. It must be sabotage. We’ll handle the science. You look into
Difculty step higher.
the scheming and conspiracies.”
Spice Extraction
While Giedi Prime might be full of potential saboteurs, the best place to start will be the
Equipment Broken
scene of the crime. You begin checking the laboratory in the hope of unearthing a few clues.

Have the characters search throughout the different parts of the laboratory with
Understand or Discipline tests at Difculty 1.
OBTAIN
OBTAIN INFORMATION @ If they succeed they may spend Momentum to ’Obtain Information’ in the following
The players can ways for the cost of 1 Momentum each:
spend 1 Momen- @ A search of the ceiling reveals a hidden electronic spy-eye recording to a nearby device.

tum to ask the

@ A search of the spice extraction machine reveals frayed wires.
gamemaster a question
they must answer truth- @ A search of the power supply reveals a remotely detonated chemical reaction is
fully after a successful test. what severed the power.
power.
However, the question
@ If the characters fail the test they nd no evidence in the lab, read aloud:
must have an answer they
can potentially uncover in Dr.
Dr. Ganio gasps and points at the machine. “This shouldn’t look like this. Some-
the scene. one’s tampered with our work.”

Once the characters searched the laboratory, read aloud:

Dr.. Ganio was right. The strange readings and malfunctioning equipment weren’t
Dr
accidental at all. It was sabotage.
At that moment, Kobus Zaan enters the laboratory and peers around. Wrinkling his
nose at the smoke, he asks, “What happened in here, Nagara?”

The characters now have several options. They can share what happened with Kobus
Zaan, or they can keep quiet.
@ If the characters choose to share what happened with Kobus Zaan, read the following:
Kobus Zaan listens to your story. “My opinion? I would assume that it’s just
another unhappy group of mutineers. You saw what happened at the factory. If
you’d like, I can have Baron Harkonnen’s
Harkonnen’s security forces round up a few workers
for a public execution. That always has the desired effect.”

@ If the characters agree to let Kobus Zaan mobilize his troops, add 2 Threat to your
pool. By taking this route, the characters aren’t making any friends outside of
House Harkonnen. Kobus Zaan will be pleased they are coming round to his way of
thinking though.
@ If the characters choose not to share what happened with Kobus, read aloud:

Kobus Zaan shrugs. “If you don’t tell me, I can’t help you. I do hope you can nd
whatever answers you’re looking for.”
56

The player characters can investigate the clues further in the following ways:
@ The Spy-eye: With a Communicate test with a Difculty 2, they can try to track down

where the spy-eye was sending its recording to. A success leads them to a local device in
the ofce of lab technician Kira Jaro. A failure means that this lead is a dead end.
@ The frayed wires: The characters can attempt an Understand test with a Difculty of 2. A suc-
suc-
cess provides ngerprints and other physical evidence. If they check them against staff records
they belong to lab technician Kira Jaro. A failure means that this lead is a dead end.
@ The Chemical
Chemical Reaction: A Discipline test with a Difculty 2 allows a Bene Gesserit-
trained character to use their body’s extraordinary abilities to determine the types of
chemicals used... and where they’re available in the laboratory. A success points to rare
chemicals stored in a locked and monitored area that was only accessed by one lab
technician, Kira Jaro. A failure means that this lead is a dead end.
Reveal Kira Jaro’s
All the clues lead to a lab technician that the Harkonnen loaned to House Nagara, a
character card
woman named Kira Jaro. Like all the scientists and technicians, she has a room near the
to the player
lab she is using until House Nagara leaves for Arrakis.
characters.
@ If the players couldn’t nd any clues they will have to ask for Kobus Zaan’s help. In
which case read the following:
Kobus Zaan sighs. “Allow me.” After studying the sabotaged machinery,
machinery, he
narrows his eyes and takes a swig of red sapho juice. The mentat is silent for a
moment, his mind running through all the possibilities. Then he looks up at you.
“All evidence points to the lab technician Kira Jaro.”

Allow the players to make an Understand or Communicate test at Difculty 5. If they suc-
suc-
ceed they get the sneaking suspicion that Zaan knew about Jaro before he looked at the If the player
machine. Zaan will explain this as simply the exceptional speed his mind works at. characters nd
them, reveal
D E A L I N G W I T H K I R A J A RO
one or both Encrypted
Once the player characters know about Kira Jaro, they will want to confront/arrest her. Minimic Film assets cards
She will be in her room near the laboratory. Read the following: to the players. But make
sure they have scored well
“I didn’t do anything!” Kira protests as you enter her bunk.
enough in their test.
Kira Jaro’s small room is functional and tidy. The aroma of chemical cleaner gives the air
an unusual fresh scent, something you haven’t experienced since you’ve been on Giedi THE MINIMIC FILMS
Prime. A small plasteel chair and desk and matching cot are the main pieces of furniture. A Both minimic lms found in
panel in the wall slides open to reveal a closet with a few articles of clothing inside. Kira Jaro’s possession offer
a record of her orders from
The player characters have several options: House Vernius:
@ They can interrogate Jaro with a Communicate test at Difculty 3. If they succeed, Minimic Film One
they’ll discover that she’s not telling the truth. says: “Kira – We have
provided all materials
@ They can search her bunk with an Understand test at Difculty 2.
needed for any type of
@ With a success, they nd an encrypted minimic lm hidden inside her closet. Give
sabotage you need to
the players the Encrypted Minimic Film 1 asset card.
execute. – Earl Elber
@ If they score four successes, they nd another encrypted minimic lm wedged into Vernius”
the door jamb. Give the players the Encrypted Minimic Film 2 asset card.
Minimic Film Two says:
If they nd either minimic lm, read the following:
“Kira – Once Nagara is
As you hold the minimic lm in your hand, Kobus Zaan joins you. “That’s
“That’s not ideal. It looks distracted, get as much
like you’ll need the use of an interrogation room.” He gestures for you to follow him. intelligence on the
Nagaran technology as
If they don’t nd either minimic lm , read the following: you can. Send all data
to Aerav Kase, who is
“It looks like you’ll need the use of one of our interrogation rooms.” Kobus Zaan
waiting on Ecaz. – Earl
gestures for you to follow him.
Elber Vernius”
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 57

SCENE :
QUESTIONING KIRA
Read aloud:

Kobus Zaan leads you deep into the Harkonnen Keep, well below ground level to a
dark, dank, isolated room carved out of rock. A single chair sits in the center, too-
bright glowglobes hovering above it. The Mentat waves in some Harkonnen guards.
They steer in a bound and blindfolded Kira Jaro, shoving her into the chair.
“What will you do now?” Kobus Zaan asks, studying
studyi ng you with a Mentat’
Mentat’ss intensity.”She
has been searched and nothing further was found on her. She is all yours.”

@ If the player characters want to search Kira Jaro again they should make a Discipline test:
@ If they achieve Difculty 2 they discover a poison pill kept in a false tooth in the
back of her mouth.
@ If they achieve Difculty 4 they also nd a tiny needle covered in Basilia poison
hidden under her nail.
@ If discovered, both can be removed from her with the help of the guards, and Zaan
will order the instant execution of the guard who conducted the previous search.
Before the characters can start to question Kira , read the following:

Though blindfolded, Kira holds her head high. “I demand trial by combat. Defeat me
and I will become loyal to House Nagara.”

A successful Communicate test at Difculty 3 convinces the player characters that she’s
telling the truth. In fact she is frightened of the Harkonnens, although this is not unusual
among Harkonnen employees. However, However, if the player characters like and respect Dr.
Dr.
Ganio (ask the players how their characters feel about him) and she is injured, the test
Difculty is 1 step higher as they have trouble believing the saboteur has any honor.
@ If the player characters opt for a duel move to ’Trial by Combat’.
@ If the player characters opt to Interrogate Kira Jaro instead move to ’Interrogating
Kira Jaro’.
Note that if the player characters are feeling particularly mean they can plan to
interrogate Jaro anyway if the duel does not go their way.

TRI AL BY COMBAT
If the characters Read aloud:
choose to accept
A trial by combat involves a one-on-one duel using shields and personal blades. Kira
her challenge,
has a razor-edged
razor-edged kindjal (a type of dagger) and seems to be an expert in its use. She
reveal the Dueling Map
does not have a personal shield. One of you must face her alone, you will also use a
and its associated asset
kindjal but may also use a personal shield if you so wish. Nobody said this has to be a
cards – a knife for each
completely fair ght.
participant and a per-
sonal shield for the player A duel is a type of conict and works in the same way as previous conicts, just the
character. zones and assets are a little different.
Each combatant is represented by one of the two circles, place Jaro’s
Jaro’s character card
in one and the card for the player character ghting the duel in the other. These cards
cannot move during the conict.
The two areas in front of each circle represent the defensive zones of each combat-
ant. While the map remains static, it represents the two opponents moving and weav-
ing back and forth as they ready to strike.
58

KIRA JARO
Lab Technician, (Notable Supporting Character) DRIVE S TAT E M E N T
Kira is a decent agent as well as a technician, but 7 I cover the back of
DUTY:
she’s picked the wrong side. She hates the Harkon- those who cover mine.
nens and knows her only hope of survival now is 6
FAITH:
putting her trust in House Nagara, and begging for
their protection. 4
J U ST I CE :
Kira will use Power as her Drive during the duel.
But she will use Faith instead if the player character POWER: 8 Nobody will help you, but you.
does not use a shield.
T RU T H : 5
Traits: Technician, Arrogant

TALENTS
SKILL FOCUSES
(None)
BATTLE: 5 Short Blades
Assets: Kindjal, Poison Needle

COMMUNICATE: 5

DISCIPLINE: 6

MOVE: 4

UNDERSTAND: 6 Advanced Technology

Each combatant places their assets (a kindjal and possibly a personal shield) in either of their defensive zones.
If either combatant can move their kindjal asset into the circle zone of their opponent and ’use’ it, they
will win the duel.

A few extra rules you should know, and a couple of reminders:

@ Only one character can ght Kira Jaro. Let the players decide which character this will be.

@ The player character begins with the initiative.

@
Using anuser
and the asset
ofinthe
a character’s
character’
asset musts circular zonesuccesses
score more is a contested Battle
than the test, meaning
defender
defender. . A draw both
meansopponents roll
the defender
wins the challenge. If the attacker wins the challenge their opponent is defeated and the duel is over.
@ As usual, assets can be moved subtly or boldly in the same way as before:
@ If you move it boldly you are trying to provoke your opponent into a hasty action. Make a Battle
test at Difculty 2 and if you succeed you may move one of your assets to a connected zone from
its current one, and move one of your opponents assets to a zone connected to its current one.
@ If you move subtly, you are making a clever ploy to grant you an opportunity. Make a Battle test at
Difculty 2 and if you succeed you may move one of your assets to a zone connected to its current
one. If you choose to keep the initiative the cost of doing so is reduced to 0.
@ If a kindjal moves in or out of a defensive zone occupied by an opponent’s shield the Difculty to make
the move is increased to 4. A shield may not be moved to either opponents circular zone, but it may
be moved to any defensive zone. This represents how the ghter orients themselves in the duel to

make the best use of the shield.

@ Kira will use Power as her Drive during the duel. She will use Faith instead if the player character
chooses not use a shield.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 59

SINGLE COMBAT
@ If the character defeats Kira Jaro in single combat, read the following:
Kira drops her kindjal to the ground in surrender. Sweat drips from her fore-
fore-
head. With a grimace of pain, she moves into a kneeling position. “You ght
well for a House known for technology. I pledge fealty to House Nagara from
here on.”
Collapsing into a sitting position, she leans against a wall. “I can tell you where
to nd all the information I know about your enemies…”

Either outcome in @ If they have not already found them, give both Encrypted Minimic Film cards to the
the duel means players. Kira Jaro is also now a non-player character in House Nagara. Her character
you should reveal card should be given to the players to represent her as a retainer asset.
both Encrypted Minimic
@ If the character loses to Kira Jaro in single combat read the following:
Film assets cards if the
players do not already Kira towers over you with a triumphant smirk on her face, readying for the killing blow.
have them. But if they
Before she can strike, Kobus Zaan snaps his ngers. The door slides open with a
beat Jaro fairly they also
hiss, and guards stream into the tiny room. Grunts and the thud of sts on esh
gain his help as a retainer
make you wince as the guards wrestle Kira Jaro back into a chair.
asset and should be given
his character card. “I suppose it’s
it’s up to me now,
now,”” Kobus Zaan says, his tone bored. With a ick of
his ngers he dismisses you from the room.
As you wait outside, mufed screams pierce even the heavy walls of the
interrogation room.
It’s not long before Kobus Zaan slips through the door, wiping blood from his
hands onto a rag. “I have the information you want.”

Kobus Zaan shares the location of both the Encrypted Minimic Films if the characters
did not nd them in the previous scene. Jaro’s screams will make it clear how Kobus
was able to nd them.

I N T E RRO G AT I N G K I R A J A RO
If the characters choose to interrogate Kira Jaro instead, they must make a contested test
against her to learn what he knows.
This requires one character and up to two assistants making either a Communicate
or Discipline test. To resist them, Kira will roll using Faith (6) + Discipline (6). The
gamemaster may spend Threat to improve her odds as usual. The player characters must
get more successes than Kira to win the test. On a draw Kira resists them.
The Complication range is increased to 17 for these tests, meaning a Complication results
if any die rolls 17 or above, not just 20. If a Complication results, Jaro passes out from
injuries resulting from the interrogation and the session must end.
@ If the players succeed in interrogating Kira Jaro, read the following:
With a groan, Kira Jaro breaks. Words spill from her lips. “I work for House Ver-
nius. I don’t have any names though. They hired me anonymously. My job was
to distract you with sabotage. Dr. Ganio’s machine was the only thing I could get
access to... My employer also wants to know as much as possible about Nagaran
technology.. I sent all my intelligence to a dead drop on Ecaz.”
technology

Reveal both Min- @ If they have not already found them Kira also details where both the minimic lms
imic Film assets can be found.
if the player
@ If the players fail to interrogate Kira Jaro and they did not nd both the poison pill
characters are successful in
and the poison needle, she will use one of them to kill herself. Read the following:
the interrogation.
60

With a strained expression, Kira Jaro studies your face. “You

“You don’t even understand the war you’re in
the middle of. Good luck, House Nagara.”
Suddenly, her muscles constrict, her teeth clench, and foam pours from her mouth. Her eyes roll up
Suddenly,
into her head and she goes limp. Kobus Zaan approaches the woman and leans down. Snifng at her
mouth, he glances at you. “Poison. I’ll have the guard who searched her executed for this failure.”

@ If the players fail to interrogate Kira Jaro and did nd both the poison pill and the poison needle , she
will try to escape, forcing Kobus Zaan to kill her and injuring one of the players in the process. Tear up Kira
Jaro’s character card. Read the following:
Jaro’s
Kira Jaro lunges toward you, having somehow got loose while you were distracted. With unprec-
edented speed, Kobus Zaan pulls a tiny dartgun from inside his coat. With a hiss, it releases a tiny
projectile that embeds itself into Kira Jaro’s esh.
In moments, the enemy spy is writhing on the ground in agony.
agony. With her last breath, she spits out,
“House Nagara is at war, and you don’t even know it.”

Give the players a few moments to discuss what their characters have just learned about Kira Jaro, Kobus
Zaan, and their place in the Landsraad. After they nish talking, or at a dramatic juncture, read the following:
Crossing his arms, Kobus Zaan steps up to you. “So, your enemies strike at you here, even on the terri-
tory of another House, an insult we have duly noted. It appears that House Nagara is at war and House
Vernius is no easy match. Sabotage. Espionage.
Espionage. This was
was a valuable lesson for you. I hope that you learn
learn
from it.” He rests his hand on the door to the interrogation room. “And, remember,
remember, should you need help
in the future, any enemy of yours is an enemy of House Harkonnen. Leave it to us. We always get what
we’re after. Tomorrow, then.”
With that, he glides out of view. Despite the heat, a shiver runs down your spines.
 A C T I I , P A RT 
ASSASSINATION
Without warning, the Countess Nagara arrives on Giedi Objectives:
Prime. The players have the chance to discuss the recent @ Meet with the Countess and Baron Harkonnen.

events with her… all in front of Baron Harkonnen. For two @ Survive an attack on the ship on the way to the Spacing

such vocal allies, the entire gathering feels icy and cold. In Guild Heighliner.
the end, the Countess insists on taking her heir back with her @ Discover the Countess’ secret message in two items

to Arrakis. As their ship breaks through the atmosphere into and the true relationship between House Nagara and
space, systems around the starship begin to fail. It feels eerily House Harkonnen.
like their earlier training sessions. The players can try to x the @ Take control of their House.

ship or evacuate. But they cannot save the Countess Nagara

and soon nd themselves in charge of their entire House.

SCENE �:
COU NTE SS N AG AR A
Read Aloud:
Reveal the char-
acter cards for Kobus Zaan escorts you back to the residential area of the Harkonnen Keep as you reel
Countess Nagara from the understanding that your House is now at war...
war... and you were almost casualties.
and Baron Harkonnen.
The glowglobes here are warmer,
warmer, but still have a harsh incandescence to them. The
ubiquitous aroma of manufacturing chemicals permeates everything, even at the
planet’s seat of power.
As you walk the long hallways, the architecture, the opulent décor, and even the serv-
ants now seem stark and intimidating. You no longer feel safe on Giedi Prime. Who is
a spy? Or an assassin? Are you feeling ready to become one of the leaders of House
Nagara someday?
Footsteps echo down the corridor
corridor,, hurrying toward you.
One of the Harkonnen Keep stewards nods her head at you. “The Countess Nagara
has just arrived on Giedi Prime. She would like to see you.”
The steward ushers you to the large reception room. Small tables covered in fragrant
dishes and refreshing beverages dot the room. Poison snoopers wave their spindly
arms at different points along the walls.
Gazing out of one of the armor-plaz windows,
windows, Countess Nagara, the leader of House
Nagara looks regal and ragged. She can’t quite hide the dark circles under her eyes
or the exhausted set of her mouth.
At the other end of the hall stands Baron Harkonnen, an imposing gure. Though he
clearly noticed you enter, his attention is focused entirely upon an attendant. They
speak in low tones, not inviting interruption.
As she turns to you, Countess Nagara’s intense gaze scans you up and down. The light of the
glowglobes reect off the delicate pendant at her throat, a representation of Nagara’s moon.
“Welcome!” the Baron Harkonnen nally greets you. “Eat! Drink!”
62

The characters will likely want to talk with the Countess:

@ How was Arrakis?

“Absurdly arid and hot.”

@ Why do you look so tired?

“Arrakis is a challenging ef.”

@ When do we get to go to Arrakis?

“When the Baron Harkonnen determines your education is complete.”

When the players are done with their questions, she will ask hers:
@ How did the negotiation with CHOAM go?

@ If the players sold their entire shipment for a good price:

sagely.. “This gives House Nagara a solid nancial foundation as well as resources to put
She nods sagely
toward improving the melange manufacturing equipment. Quite astute for your rst foray into Land-
Land-
sraad negotiations.”

@ If the players sold their shipment only for a bad price:

“That sounds like a complete degradation of communication. It’s unfortunate.” With an unconscious,
absent movement, she taps on the armor-plaz in front of her. “I don’t blame you. I know how those
CHOAM delegates are.” She sighs in exasperation. “However,
“However, perhaps, consider a more open-
minded approach in future negotiations.”

@ If the players sold some of the merchandise for a good price and some for a bad one:
 “Your deal will allow us to fund our management of Arrakis for quite some time. For that, I applaud
“Your
you. However,
However, without surplus product, our scientists have fewer resources to utilize in their attempts
to improve melange manufacturing. You You did well, but you must always remember there is more to
being part of the Landsraad than money.”

@ How is the research on improving the mining equipment going?

@ If the machine exploded and injured Dr. Ganio:

For a moment, the Countess turns toward Baron Harkonnen, glaring. “That sounds terrifying and
dangerous. I will make sure to contract with a Suk doctor to attend to Dr. Ganio.” She puts a
gentle hand on your arm. Baron Harkonnen clears his throat, and she drops her arm to her side.
Looking at you, she asks, “Are you injured?”

@ If the machinery survived:

For a moment, the Countess turns toward Baron Harkonnen, glaring. “What a dangerous situa-
situa-
tion.” Her eyes nd yours. “I commend your quick thinking. I’m sure that someone would have
been severely injured without you there.”

@ How are you doing, my heir?

There is no complex answer here, the Countess just wants to know how her children are doing under all this
pressure. She will nod and listen then reply:
“Managing a House and making these types of decisions? None of this is easy. You are doing well.”

If the players don’t bring up the following topics, Kobus Zaan will:
@ We apprehended a traitor who had sabotaged the spice extraction equipment and interrogated her (Kira Jaro):

The Countess narrows her eyes at Kobus Zaan in an accusatory way. But the expression is gone in
an instant. You’re
You’re not even sure you saw it. She turns
tur ns to you and says, “Sometimes, interrogation is
necessary.. But it is better to win people’s
necessary people’s loyalty than to always rule through fear.”
fear.” Baron Harkonnen
snorts derisively at her words.

@ We allowed the traitor to duel with us for her life and after defeating her she has become our ally:
The Countess nods her head in approval. “You
“You have won a new ally through your skills. That will earn
you respect within the Landsraad.”

@ We allowed the traitor to duel with us for her life but she defeated me and the Harkonnen were forced to kill her:
expressionless. “Perhaps next time you will remember it is not a ruler’s
The Countess remains expressionless. ruler’s place to
put themselves in danger. I commend the Harkonnen for their swift action.”

T H E C O U N T E S S A N D T H E B A RO N
Read aloud:
While the Countess and Baron Harkonnen remain the picture of cordiality and politeness, there seems to be
an edge to their relationship. All this time you had thought them friends, or at least allies, but seeing them
together like this, you are no longer sure.
Eventually, talk turns to the rebellion in the factory. You ( pick one of the player characters at random)
thought to mention it to show how well you dealt with a dangerous situation. But the Countesses’ reac- reac-
tion is the opposite of what you expected. She pulls herself up to her full height and points a nger at
Baron Harkonnen. “How dare you. You promised that no harm would come to my heir. I demand an apol apol--
ogy.. And, because you clearly don’t understand the value of keeping one’s word, I want something you
ogy
can comprehend. I demand compensation!”
64

Decide as a group if you would like to play out this conict as a simple challenge or
as an intrigue conict:

@ If you go for the simple option, each player character should decide who they wish to
assist. The Baron and the Countess are quite evenly matched so it depends how well
the player characters engage with the conict. Each player character must decide who
to side with, although all of them will probably side with the Countess. The Baron will
be impressed with any who side with him though and mark them for favor later. Such
characters gain an asset ’Favor from Baron Harkonnen’ which they should write on their
character sheet.
Each player character must then make a Communicate test at Difculty 2. Add up the
number of successful tests made in favor of each party and the most is the winner
winner..
However,, reduce that number by 1 for every failed test in support of either side.
However
Despite their intentions, any player character might be the reason the Countess loses
the conict. Due to their political acumen the Baron starts with the equivalent of 3
successful tests and the Countess starts with 2. The player characters’ results then
modify these numbers.
@ If you decide to play out the intrigue, bring out the dueling map again. Place the For an intrigue
character cards for all the player characters in either the Baron’s or the Countesses’ duel your should
defensive zones. The Baron and Countess are the combatants, but the player charac - bring out the
ters are the assets they are using. Player characters should be placed in the defensive Dueling map used to
zones of the combatant they support. Anyone in the Baron’s zones gains his favor as ght Jaro and place the
above. They lose this asset if they are ever used to make an attack against the Baron. character’s cards on it as
In the conict the Baron and the Countess have a target number for any roll of 16. directed.
However,, they are assumed to have a focus equal to the amount of characters in their
However
defensive zones, representing who is taking whose side at any time. When one of the
characters is moved into the personal (circular) zone of either combatant and ’’used’
used’
successfully,, that combatant is defeated.
successfully
Characters can be moved and used by either side. While it doesn’t change their
allegiance it shows their mistakes being capitalized on by their opponent.
@ If the Baron wins, read the following:
The Baron chuckles. “You see, Countess? No harm done. You’re overreacting.”
“I expect you to keep a better watch over your wards in the future, Harkonnen.” The
Countess narrows her eyes but gives the Baron a gracious nod. “Let us move on.”

@ If the Countess wins, read the following:

The Baron crosses his arms and clenches his teeth. “I will compensate you as we
agreed. However,
However, I think you are all overreacting. Especially after all my kindness
in teaching them how to govern and protecting them.”
“I’m glad you see the wisdom of my heir’s arguments.”
arguments.” The Countess narrows her
eyes but gives the Baron a gracious nod. “Let us move on.”

After this interaction, the player characters may try and divine more about the
Baron and Countess’ relationship . They can make an Understand test at Difculty 2.
On a failure, they get no information. On a success they can use Momentum to ’Obtain
Information’ and nd out (for 1 Momentum each) in this order:
@ The Countess is oddly cold to Baron Harkonnen, but he seems to have no discernible

problem with her.

@ The Countess is frightened about something.
@ Whatever she is frightened about concerns the player characters.

@ She believes their lives may be in danger.

@ The danger comes from the Baron, or his House at least.

 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 65

After the players complete their discussion with the Countess, read the following:
With a pinched expression around her mouth, the Countess turns her back on the
Baron Harkonnen and places her hands on yours. “I believe that your apprenticeship
here has come to an end and that it’s time for you to join me on Arrakis.”
Kobus Zaan begins to protest.
“Don’t you agree, Baron Harkonnen?” the Countess throws over her shoulder at the
man.

The large man smirks. “Whatever you think best, Countess.”

“We leave in the morning.” With that proclamation, she sweeps out of the reception
hall.

SCENE :
ON THE MOVE
The Countess has declared it is time to leave Giedi Prime. Give the group time to
discuss how they feel about this. Are they happy to return to their home planet or do they
want to participate in more training with the Harkonnen? Whatever their objection, they
HEIGHLINER
are all going home, the Countess has spoken.
A vast spacecraft
that can t whole Once the group has discussed this sudden change, read the following aloud:
eets of ships in
its cargo hold. These Guild The engines roar and the oor trembles beneath your feet as the sleek, House
Nagara transport lifts off from Giedi Prime. Though Harkonnen Keep and the build-
owned and operated ships
ings of Barony quickly vanish into the distance and the ship rises above the smoky
are the primary way of
haze, the taste and smell of the industrial city’s air lingers, the atmosphere lters not
moving across the Impe-
quite done with Giedi Prime’s stink. It will be a short time until you reach the Guild
rium. Their engines can
Heighliner,, parked high above the planet’s surface in orbit.
Heighliner
fold space to travel almost
instantaneously from one The Countess Nagara, her posture and expression tense, turns toward her heir. She
planet to another. holds a small, decorative disc that dangles from a golden chain in her hand.
Reveal the Astro- “This is an astrolabe, an ancient tool used before space travel. From what we under-
labe asset card stand, it was incredible technology for its time. This represents the progress that
and give it to the House Nagara continues to make and reminds us what once was. It is now yours.”
player character who is the
With solemn ceremony, she places it in her heir’s palm.
Nagara heir (Shizu).
As you hold the astrolabe in your hand, the metal cool against your palm, an explo-
sion rocks the ship. The pilot’s
pilot’s console explodes, enveloping the operator in ames.
Alarms begin to scream around you. Warning lights pulse. The transport shudders
under your feet and begins to lurch violently, jerking from side to side and rolling
slightly as more explosions echo deeper inside the ship. You
You blink as the sights and
sounds jolt you back into the memories of your training with Niran Rani and Turo
Turo
Imshel. Even the smell of the recycled air and the transport’s ambient temperature
matches your experience.
But this is no training exercise. Your
Your heart drops into your stomach. This is very real.
Putting out the re in the pilot’s
pilot’s console the Countess is the rst one to grab the
controls, ghting to pull the ship out of a fatal dive.
“Nothing is responding,” she shouts to you. “Get to the systems and get something
back online.”

Y
You
ou help
little, the Countess
as sirens heave on
blare all around theThe
you. contr
controls,
ols, andisthe
situation shuttle pulls
shuttle
desperate, out have
but you of thebought
dive a
yourselves a few moments.
66

“All of you,” shouts the Countess. “Get something working back there, I’ll hold the REPAIRS TRACK
controls. You’re trained for this, I know you won’t let me down.” Use the following chart
You can tel
You telll the
the Cou
Counte
ntess
ss is not as con
conde
dent
nt as she see
seems
ms,, but
but you hav
have
e your
your or
order
derss and
and to record the repair
there is no time to argue. and failures the player
characters make in their
attempt to x the shuttle:
If the characters try to repair the transport, they can use the bridge systems to try
and trace the faults. To make a focused analysis of the situation in all this chaos requires JET BRAK
BRAKE
E
a Discipline test at Difculty 1, with one player character leading and the rest assisting. WORKSTA
WORKST ATION
If they fail the Countess will tell them to see what they can nd in the engine room. The Failed
faulty systems will turn out to be more obvious there.
Broken
Each additional success will gain Momentum that can be used to ’Obtain Information’ Fixed
about the state of the ship or saved to aid repairs:
@ A small explosive is what blew out the pilot’s console and caused several ship-wide
JET THRU
THRUSTER
STER
power surges that have affected several other systems. This was undoubtedly sabotage
WORKSTA
WORKST ATION
and those responsible will have damaged or interfered with other systems too.
Failed
@ The jet brake
brake system
system has failed, which means the ship cannot slow.
@ The je
jett thru
thrust
ster
er cont
contro
roll syst
system
em has failed, and if red will push the ship badly off course. Broken
@ The cooling system has failed, meaning the engine is about to overheat and pos-
Fixed
sibly explode.
@ The altitude meter has failed, so the life support systems are mismanaging the air
mixture for the occupants of the ship. COOLING SYSTEM
@ The life support monitoring system has failed, so as well as problems with the air
STATION
supply, the temperature is falling in the ship.
@ For more detail on these systems see the section in Act I on p15. Failed
The player characters must leave the bridge and go to engine
engineering
ering to make repairs Broken
to the ship’s systems.
systems. It will take all of them to have a chance and there is nothing they
Fixed
can do to help the Countess y the shuttle.
The player characters may notice these are exactly the same ve problems they were
faced with in the training simulation. Ask each player if their character is calm enough to ALTITUDE
ALTITUDE METER
METER
remember their training so they can x the problems. What they choose to do denes the STATION
Difculty, but do not tell them this, or what that number is.
Failed
@ If they ignore what they were trained to do and try and work from scratch they are
Broken
taking a dangerous gamble with the time they have left. But the Difculty to repair any
system is 2. Fixed
@ If they choose to try and remember their training, all Difculties to repair any system
are 4. The training has actually been to instill the wrong reexes in the player charac-
charac-
LIFE SUPPORT
ters, and following it will only make them make mistakes.
MONITOR STATION
@ Only if they succeed in a repair attempt should they be told what the Difculty actu- actu-
Failed
ally was (and gain the right momentum). After a few attempts the player characters
should gure out their training is what is getting in the way. If they realize this the Dif - Broken
culty becomes 2 for further system repair attempts.
Fixed
Each player character has time to try and repair two different systems, once each. T
To
o
make a repair they need to make an Understand test at a Difculty depending on
whether they use their training or not.
Just as before, if there are two failed attempts on a single system, that system is beyond
repair and no further tests can be made on it.
Instead of making a repair themselves, any player character may opt to aid another
character’s repair attempt.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 67

@ If the player characters repair all the systems, read aloud:

As the engine purrs and the transport’s ight path corrects itself, the Countess smiles
at you. “Well done.” She settles herself into her seat on the bridge with a pleased
expression. “They shall not destroy House Nagara today.”
In an instant, the bulkhead next to her burns an angry red. Before you can even
nish your thought, it erupts with a roar. Sharp, aming pieces of plasteel and
plaz y past you, grazing your cheek, your arm, your leg…
Reveal the Moon As the dust from this second bomb explosion clears, you see the Countess
Necklace asset sprawled across the oor, shrapnel protruding from her body. Her hand is pressed
card and give it to against her throat, trying and failing to stop the bleeding. With her other hand
the players. she pulls at her silver necklace and puts it into the hands of her heir. She mouths
at them, “You are House Nagara now.”
With a sigh, she collapses, blood pooling beneath her, red staining her dress.
The ship buckles once more and falls into a dive again. Trying
Trying to control the ship
would be madness as you see the surface of Giedi Prime looming towards you.
The only thing to do now is get to the escape pods.

Each player character should make a Move test to get to the escape pods. There is
enough time but they don’t need to know this so the test is to increase tension. But
anyone who fails to make a success may need to be helped to their pod as the ship
rocks and shakes.
@ If the player characters repair at least three of the systems , read aloud:

You
You feel the ship level
level off a little and
and rush back to the bridge to nd the main
hatch closed and locked. Through the thick window you see the Countess still
struggling with the controls. You
You bang on the hatch to get her attention but she
doesn’t open the door. Instead you hear her speak over the intercom.
“I’m sorry my children, I’m not coming with you. All we have done is buy the
time needed to use the escape pods. If I leave the controls this ship will fall like
a stone. Before you ask, I’m not changing places with a single one of you. Get to
the escape pods and make whoever is responsible pay for what they have tried
to do to our House. You are House Nagara now, make me proud.”

There is time for the player characters to try and convince the Countess to come with them, but
she will not, and the ship will have crashed before anyone can break the thick door open.
Eventually the player characters will have to understand there is no way to save the
Countess and they must make their way to the escape pods. Deciding to die with her in
solidarity will only make sure no one pays for this assassination.
Each player character should make a Move test to get to the escape pods. There is enough
time but they don’t need to know this so the test is to increase tension. But anyone who
fails to make a success may need to be helped to their pod as the ship rocks and shakes.

@ If the player characters repair none of the systems, read aloud:

You turn to nd the Countess
You Countess behind you instead
instead of at the controls
controls.. She grabs your
arm and shouts, “It’s too late, there is nothing we can do now. Get to the escape
pods!” She shoves you toward the small craft and hurries into the small capsule
next to yours.

With a hiss
turn to lookand a click,
back, yourthe
you see escape pod releases
Countess’ fromstill
from
escape pod theattached.
transport.Something’s
As you s
Something’
wrong. The release mechanism won’t open.
68

Whatever the
In the strange silence of near-s
near-space,
pace, the transport’s engine begins to glow white
result of the
hot. And, in an instant, the entire ship shatters into tiny, sparkling pieces. You
players’ repair
are just at the point where gravity was losing its grasp, and all the debris forms a
attempts, tear up the
cloud momentarily.
Countess’ character card.
As you peer out the small porthole, searching for the Countess’ escape pod,
Record how she was lost
chunks of House Nagara’s
Nagara’s transport slam into your tiny capsule. The surface of
here:
Giedi Prime looms beneath you as your pod’
pod’ss braking thrusters jerkily attempt to
slow its descent. Exploding bulkhead
The Countess did not survive, and the debris of her escape pod falls around you, Sacrice
clattering upon the surface of your own.
Escape pod failure

SCENE : As a result of the

Countess’ death
H E I R O F N AG AR A the player char-
The Countess is gone and now the player characters are the rulers of House Nagara. Take
Take acters are now alone with
a moment to ask each player how their character feels about their new responsibility and little outside help. House
the death of their ruler/mother. Nagara’s fortunes become
unstable until the player
Read aloud:
characters can restore
Outside the armor-plaz window, ships ll the bay of the enormous Guild Heighliner.
Heighliner. condence with its allies
An Atreides cargo ship rests next to a Corrino ambassadorial vessel. Engines and and the Landsraad.
shields all power down as everyone in the Heighliner prepares for the Guild Naviga- If they have any Determi-
tor to take them through foldspace.
nation left it is reduced
The interior of the Harkonnen ship you nd yourself in, like everything the House to 1.
designs, has a stark, cold, industrial functionality to it. You
You miss the technological
Remove all physical asset
superiority of Nagaran ships. The forward-thinking conveniences. The clever auto-
cards (not Traits) in play
mations. The understated luxury. This wasn’t how you were supposed to arrive on
from the players. Assets
Arrakis...
written on their character
You catch Kobus Zaan
You Zaan watching you and your small party
party.. He approaches
approaches with a pur- sheets can be kept.
poseful stride, his Sapho-juice-stained lips press together.
together. He studies the Countess’
heir with a look of ambition and pity. “We will begin now.”
THE GUILD
The transfer of a House’s title is an ancient rite. This time, however,
however, you’re not cel-
Almost all space
ebrating the succession of the next generation or mourning the loss of the previous
travel is controlled
one with a grand gala or funeral among your people, as is the custom. This time, the
by the mysterious
ceremony is taking place on another House’s ship in the middle of space. Spacing Guild. While most
Baron Harkonnen’s voice rumbles across the gathered group, “You are now the Houses have faster-than-
leader of House Nagara. Arrakis is now in your hands. May Nagara and Harkonnen be light spacecraft, only the
forever allies.” vast Guild Heighliners can
’fold space’, travelling in
The rest of the ceremony goes by in a blur.
moments across distances
Kobus Zaan’s voice shakes you out of your reverie. “Go. Represent your House.” that even an FtL ship might
take decades to cross.
The characters can now chat with a variety of characters and see what they know. Travel on a Guild ship is
The non-player characters attending the ceremony are: governed by absolute
@ Baron Harkonnen rules, such as never engag-
@ Niran Rani ing a shield and respecting
@ Turo Imshel the peace. All violence is
@ Kobus Zaan forbidden between Houses
@ DrDr.. Erika Ganio
Gani o and all passengers remain
in their ships in the gigantic
hold of the Heighliner
during the journey.
jour ney.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 69

The characters can ask:

THE ASTROLABE AND
@ What do you know of the attack on our ship?
THE NECKLACE
Inside each object is a Baron Harkonnen – “It was a horrible event. I’m deeply grieved for your loss. The
small strand of shigawire Countess was a valued ally in the Landsraad.”
carrying a coded mes-
Niran Rani – “It’s a good thing we prepared you as well as we did, isn’t it?”
sage. The backs of the
cards meet up to show Turo Imshel – “If it was an accident, I would be surprised.”
this message, but without
Kobus Zaan – “Do what you must to grieve and mourn but prepare yourself.
both the message
impossible will be
to properly Arrakis is not a kind planet.”
read. However with only Dr. Erika Ganio – “Our surviving technicians looked at what was left of the wreck-
Dr.
the astrolabe the players age of our transport. It was certainly sabotage. That was no accident. It is difcult
will possibly understand to say,
say, but they suspect that some systems had been rerouted to prevent any
the Countess was trying to attempts at in-ight control. The Countess was a formidable woman and a good
tell them something. leader.. She did not deserve this.”
leader
The message reads:
@ What happens now?
“You were hostages,
“Why,, you will go to Arrakis and manage your new ef, of
Baron Harkonnen – “Why
not trainees. The
course. As the new leaders of House Nagara, you must carry on.”
Harkonnens are our
allies, but not our Niran Rani – “A funeral, probably.”
friends.”
Turo Imshel – “It depends. If it was an accident, the Guild may ne whoever’s
House was responsible. Though it happened before boarding, it doesn’t reect
well on them and it might have happened inside the Heighliner.
Heighliner. They don’t want
that kind of liability on one of their vessels. If it was part of a War of Assassins,
well, then it was legal, and the aggressor will see no punishment. Such are the
ways of the Landsraad.”
Kobus Zaan – “You
“You will now take all our teachings and control House Nagara. The
Nagaran-made tech, the spice, any new technologies... it’s all yours.”
Dr. Erika Ganio – “I suggest you make as much money as you can off your ef
Dr.
of Arrakis. I will look into who killed the Countess. And, in time, we will have
revenge.”

@ What is Arrakis like?

Baron Harkonnen – “It is a miserable planet full of sand and dust and despera-
despera-
tion. The previous governors of the planet were soft, in my opinion. As a result,
the people are deant, unruly.”
Niran Rani – “Brutal. Merciless. Only the truly strong can survive there. I love it.
Turo Imshel – “The people and their customs are quite unique and shaped by
their environment. You
You will need to adapt to the climate and the culture.”
Kobus Zaan – “Expect the unexpected.”
Dr. Erika Ganio – “From what I understand, water is more precious than solaris
Dr.
there. And no one knows where the spice comes from.”

The Countess’ body will be recovered from the crashed shuttle, and her Moon Necklace
(along with other personal effects) will be brought to the player characters. If the ship
exploded (the player characters repaired no systems) there is nothing left of her remains
and the Moon Necklace was destroyed.
If the player The Countess’ body will be given a proper funeral. While paying their respects the player
characters nd the characters will notice the shigawire woven into her necklace if they make a Discipline test
necklace, reveal the at Difculty 3. On a success, give them the Moon Necklace asset card.
Moon Necklace asset card.
70

The funeral will take place on the Heighliner, and the Countess’ remains returned to the Nagara homeworld.
The business of Arrakis is too pressing to even allow children to mourn their mother.
mother.
The group should take a moment to reect on their character’s relations
relationship
hip with the Countess. They should
discuss her life and their connection as you might do at a funeral. The players are free to invent stories they
like of their life with the Countess, some examples are:
@ Words of wisdom she might have shared.

@ A time she was upset with a character.

@ A way she rewarded a character for something they did.

@
An event where she proved to have a particular skill, such as in diplomacy, piloting or ghting.
CONCLUSION
Read aloud:

Your characters must now represent

Your represent their House to the great council of the Landsraad
Landsraad as its new leaders.
They have their own ef and everything has changed.
But as they have survived the assassination attempt they can still lay claim to the desert world of Arrakis.
They’d better hope that they’re ready to take on the challenges of the spice planet. There is more danger
and more treachery waiting for them in the burning sands.
As the Fremen of Arrakis say
say,, “Polish comes from the cities, wisdom from the desert.”
It is time for your characters to test their wisdom.

This concludes Act II of Agents of

of Dune.
Dune. In the nal part the player characters will travel to Arrakis to lay
claim to the governorship, and perhaps nally force the hand of their enemy House Vernius.
Take a break, discuss the adventure and how it is progressing. Then continue to the third and nal act:
’Desert Planet’.
72

ACT THREE:

ESERT LANET
D P
It is said that the Duke Leto blinded himself to the perils of Arrakis, that he walked
heedlessly into the pit. Would
Would it not be more likely to suggest he had lived so long
in the presence of extreme
extreme danger he misjudged a change in its intensity? Or is it
possible he deliberately sacrificed himself that his son might find a better life? All
evidence indicates the Duke was a man not easily hoodwinked.

—from “Muad’Dib: Family Commentarie

Commentariess” by the Princess Irulan
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 73

A C T I I I , P A RT �
THE UNIVERSAL FULCRUM
Six weeks after House Harkonnen lost its ef over Arrakis, Objectives:
many Harkonnens remain on Dune ’assisting’ House Nagara. @ Introduce player characters to Arrakis.

Nagara’s assassination, the charac -

Following the Countess Nagara’s @ Embroil player characters in Arrakis’ political and

ters arrive on Arrakis to nd their forces outnumbered by cultural tensions.

@
Harkonnens and under
a Fremen ambush pressure
in Arrakeen from establishing
before all sides. They survive
a base in Heighten player characters’ suspicions of House
Harkonnen.
the Residence. At every turn the shadow of House Vernius
grows ever longer. But it begins to become clear that the
real enemy might be closer to home.

The endgame begins as you start on the nal part of the story. In this act the player characters arrive on
Arrakis to take control of spice production. They will meet the elusive Fremen and uncover more treachery
from both House Vernius and perhaps a little closer to home.
While Act I and Act II introduced new rules as they went, we’ll not be adding anything especially new in this
act. So you should be able to just play out the adventure with what you know already.
already. But don’t worry, we’ll
still remind you of the system as we go and point out when to bring in handouts and accessories.
As a ready-to-play introductory experience, Agents of Dune contains a lot of information designated to be
read aloud. But as you’ve played two acts already you are probably getting the hang of all this by now now.. So if
you and the group fancy stretching your wings a little, feel free to embellish and role play outside the con-
straints of the adventure. Have fun with it, after all, that is meant to be the point. Just don’t go too far in case
you break the plot of the story
story.. However,
However, if the gamemaster (and only the gamemaster) wants to read ahead
they’ll know what they can play around with.
As with Act II you should ideally keep the same gamemaster and the same characters for each player just as they
are. But you can swap the gamemaster or characters as long as no one has read ahead and everyone agrees.
DETERMINATION, THREAT , AND MOMENTUM
At the beginning of this act the Momentum pool begins at 0, the gamemaster begins with 2
Threat for each player character. Each player character also starts with 1 Determination point.
Without the backing of the Countess they are more alone than ever and these points reect
this. Any card traits that might no longer apply should be returned to the gamemaster.

SCENE �:
ARRIVING ON ARRAKIS
Read aloud:
You
You se
sens
nsee th
the
e sh
shutt
uttle
le’’s de
depa
part
rtur
ure
e fr
from
om the Gu
Guild
ild He
Heig
ighl
hline
inerr as a sl
slig
ight
ht vib
vibra
ratio
tion
n in th
the
e hul
hull.l.
There is a moment of queasiness between passing beyond the vessel’s gravity eld and the
shuttle’s systems compensating. The pilot adjusts your approach vector, bringing his craft out
of the Heighliner’s shadow in a sweeping curve. Canopus ares in the viewports before the
windowglaz polarizes. And then you see it: Arrakis. A drab sphere capped by dirty, residual
ice. Striated with the grey irregularities of mountains, it is patched with elds of salt, and eve-
rywhere there are the expanses of amber desert that give the planet its nickname: Dune.
Wealth has never looked so desolate.
SAPHO JUICE
Across the shuttle’s aisle is Captain Taras Nikula, the squat commander of your
Sapho juice is an
Harkonnen bodyguard, provided by Baron Harkonnen. Kobus Zaan, the Harkonnen
addictive sub-
Mentat, sits beside Nikula, an inscrutable expression on his face.
stance that many
mentats take regularly as it
As their shuttle descends, the players should take time to reect on recent events, helps their mental process-
notably the Countess’ assassination. Below are a series of questions you can ask them to ing. It stains the lips red.
discuss, but remind them they are sitting next to their Harkonnen allies…
Discussion questions:
@ What motivations might underpin her assassination (jealousy, greed, ambition)?

@ Who do they think might be responsible (a rival House, a traitor)?

@ How have they have mourned the Countess (what rites were performed, or what pri-

vate actions taken)?

@ What information do they remember about Arrakis (its barrenness and climate; its cul-

ture; the lack of water; the mystery of the spice)?

@ What concerns do they have about controlling Arrakis?

@ What do they fear most about Dune?

Once players begin discussing Arrakis, read the following:

At the mention of Arrakis, Kobus Zaan approaches. A wave of turbulence as the shut-
tle enters Arrakis’s upper atmosphere sends him momentarily lurching down the aisle.
He drops into a chair
chair,, wiping sapho-stained lips.
“Even the air is unkind here, it seems,” he remarks wryly.
wryly.
“Still, recognizing a fact is the rst step in enlisting it to your cause. Arrakis is a
savage world. You must be prepared if you are to bend it to your will. Here,” he
hands you a topographical map of Arrakis.
“The enemy,”
enemy,” he says with a smile as he points to the map. “And a formidable one.
Still, together we will tame the land for the glory of your House Nagara. And we
begin that task now.”
He opens the le he has been holding since coming aboard and hands you a sheet of
spice paper.
paper. “This is the current state of spice production on Arrakis.”

Kobus gives the player characters a mining report. It gives an account of the last year of Give the Spice
spice production under the Harkonnen and lists the harvesting machinery available to the Mining Report hand-
characters. Give the players time to scan the report. out to the players
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 75

Read aloud:
“As you can see,” Zaan continues, “CHOAM’s annual audit of melange, or ’spice’, production under
House Harkonnen highlights an impressive 12% return. Even in a rising market this was an accomplish-
ment, particularly with Fremen attacks on our mining operations. The increase required by CHOAM barely
kept pace with demand in the Imperium. You will be hard-pressed to maintain prots, given the condition
of the equipment at your disposal. We can assist, of course, but with 40% of your ornithopters, harvester
factories, and carryalls temporarily non-operational, you should anticipate a fall in production and loss of
protability.. CHOAM will have to be appeased.”
protability

Zaan continues, “The situation on Arrakis is always uid and complete accuracy often elusive. Neverthe -
less, the difculties facing you in terms of spice production and Fremen insurgencies are not insurmount -
able, especially with House Harkonnen expertise at your disposal.”
He looks out the windowplaz at the landscape that suddenly glares through the polarization. “Ah, we’re
on nal approach.”

As the shuttle makes a nal approach, the player characters may ask Zaan:
@ Who are the Fremen?

“The Fremen are the desert-dwelling indigenous nomads. They live in caves — sietches — and are
known for their savagery and superstitiousness. No one knows their numbers since the Imperium has
many, how-
been unable to conduct a census. We suspect, based on our analysis, there are not that many,
ever.. You had best pay more attention to the city-dwellers, descendants of off-worlders who make up
ever
the core of your skilled labor force. Though many were born on Arrakis, they have little in common
with the Fremen.”

@ Why are the Fremen attacking spice harvesters?

“Because they are violent and opposed to ’off-worlders
’off-worlders’.
’. They see harvesting spice as an affront to
their ancestral claim of ownership over Arrakis, and would have it left, unclaimed, in the sands.”

@ Why is the mining equipment in poor repair?

“It has been maintained as well as possible, but the environment takes a heavy toll on machinery and
equipment, causing near-constant degradation. Arrakis is a difcult world and maintenance costs are
high.”

@ How can we improve spice production to meet CHOAM’s targets?

“Rule with a strong hand. Plan ambitiously, clearly, and hold to it. Purge dis-
ambitiously, communicate your goals clearly,
senters and reactionaries. Inspire those who work for you, and make the Fremen fear you.”

Ask each player to make a Communicate test, Difculty 2. They can ’Obtain Information’ and learn the following
facts at a cost of 1 Momentum each:
@ Zaan’s perspective on the Fremen seems informed by prejudice.

@ Zaan’s reason for the Fremen attacks seems too simplistic for a Mentat. He may be hiding something.
@ Zaan’s explanation for the condition of mining equipment is credible, but with a 12% prot margin House
Harkonnen could have maintained their equipment more effectively.
@ The advice to rule Arrakis with an iron st seems to reect Harkonnen attitudes to governance rather than
genuine counsel. It may also be an invitation for House Nagara to act precipitously. But why?
Equipped with Zaan’s information, ask the players:
@ How far they trust Kobus Zaan?
@ How they would prefer to deal with the Fremen?
@ How they might approach spice mining operations?
76

SCENE :
ARRAKEEN LANDING FIELD
Read aloud:
As you turn to your viewports, the shuttle descends through a gap in the Shield Wall, Give the players
the raw mountain range that protects this region from the worst of Arrakis’s coriolis the Arrakis Infor-
planet’s oldest settle-
storms. Ahead, in the shadow of Rimwall West, is Arrakeen, the planet’s mation handout
ment, former seat of planetary government, and your new home. and let them read it.

The shuttle decelerates, its engines whine as it descends, landing without a jolt. The
door lock rotates, seals retract, and the airlock swings wide. A blast of furnace heat
oods your compartment. Nikula leads his men out, leaving Zaan to signal all is clear.
As you step out onto the landing eld, sunlight, bright and sharp as a blade, dazzles you.
For a moment the world is washed in light, then the glare resolves itself to reveal a rangy
man in a somber gray uniform. The analemma innity badge on the bracelet at his wrist
identies him as a Spacing Guild representative. He is accompanied by someone you rec-
ognize: Roj Varis, a Major in the Nagara household guard and the Countess’ most trusted
ofcer.. A detachment of eight Nagara household guards ank him and the Guildsman.
ofcer
Reveal Major Roj
As the entourage approaches, Nikula’s men take up defensive positions. Zaan slides Vari
Varis’
s’ cha
charac
racter
ter
between them and explains sotto voce: card to the players.
“The Guildsman is Ashem Perro, former Spacing Guild envoy to Arrakis, appointed Reveal Ashem Per-
by the Emperor as Judge of the Change and Arbiter of Operations overseeing the ro’s character card
withdrawal of House Harkonnen.
Harkonnen. His appointment was required
required by the Landsraad to the players.
under pressure from the Spacing Guild. His role is to ensure a smooth transition from
House Harkonnen to House Nagara.”

ASHAM PERRO
Judge of the Change (Notable Supporting Character) DRIVE S TAT E M E N T
Perro is actually dedicated to his position and takes
it seriously. He has worked hard to ensure a smooth DUTY: 8 The spice must ow.
and fair transition. Perro has suspicions that House
Harkonnen is working against House Nagara, despite FAITH: 4
appearances to the contrary. These arise from investi -
gating acts of sabotage to spice mining equipment. J U ST I CE : 5

Traits: Spacing Guild, Judge of the Change (Arbiter 6

POWER: Commerce is power exercised for prot.
of Operations on Arrakis), Astute and Honorable
TALENTS T RU T H : 7 Truth is never ambiguous.
@ Cautious (Understand): When Perro makes an

Understand test and buys additional d20s using

Threat, he may re-roll a single d20 from that pool. SKILL FOCUSES

@ Cool Under Pressure (Discipline): Before rolling BATTLE: 4 Unarmed Combat

a Discipline test, Perro may spend 2 Threat to
automatically succeed at the test. He generates COMMUNICATE: 8 Deceit
no Momentum/Threat for this test, however.
DISCIPLINE: 6 Self-control
@ Subtle Words (Communicate): When
attempting a Communicate test with an
MOVE: 5
individual, Perro can buy one more d20 by
spending Threat and may create a free new Trait
UNDERSTAND: 7 Data Analysis
to apply to that individual.
Assets: A Spacing Guild network of Spies, Inform-
ants, and Surveillance Technicians;
Technicians; Poison Snooper

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 77

Ask each player to make a Communicate test, Difculty 3.

@ If any succeed, Zaan whispers to them: “Perro is not without guile. He heads a Guild-backed intelligence
network on Arrakis and cannot be trusted.”
@ If they all fail, they cannot make out what Zaan says to them.

Continue to read aloud:

After a formal bow, Major Varis
Varis provides the introductions. It is clear he respects Perro, whose aquiline
features and fastidious dress denote a cultured man. In person, Perro appears affable. He begins with
apparently sincere condolences, and says:
“Welcome to Arrakis. As Judge of the Change, I will be quartered in Arrakeen’
Arrakeen’ss Residence, now the seat
of House Nagara. I will be administering the Residence’s detention facility during the judicial interreg-
num, until House Nagara’s forces and processes are fully in place. In this capacity, I will liaise with Varis.
I am aware, as you might assume, of several Great Houses envious of Nagara’s new ef. It is logical to
assume that there may be inltrators and saboteurs working to undermine House Nagara. As such, we
should anticipate Fremen attacks on spice mining operations to increase in the early stages of this transi-
tion. They will see an opportunity to weaken their new Imperial overseers and will take advantage of it.”

The characters may also ask:

@ From where did the Harkonnen govern Arrakis?

“The Harkonnens were in their newly-built city of Carthag, a densely populated city 200 kilometers
from Arrakeen.”

@ Are there many prisoners in the detention facility?

“None of note: a water-thief and an adulterer beaten by his wife and detained for his own protec-
tion.”

@ Which Great Houses envy House Nagara?

“That is difcult to estimate, given the number of likely suspects. The Arrakis ef is the most valuable
in the universe. Many Great Houses envy that ef. Discrediting House Nagara could be the rst step
to securing it for any willing to risk a formal feud.”

@ Why might Fremen attacks increase now?

“To
“To remind House Nagara that, while it holds the Arrakis ef, it does not control the planet. The
Fremen require attention if House Nagara is to consolidate power and ensure protability.”
protability.”

Read aloud:
After this exchange, Perro leads you to a convoy of ground vehicles. Here, he ushers you into a surpris -
ingly well-kept limocar bracketed by heavy transports. Under Perro’s instruction, Nikula’s force occupies
the rst transport, Varis’ troops the second, and Perro’s personal guard, stationed around the convoy, the
third, located at the rear. None of the vehicles are shielded, a feature you have all taken for granted your
entire lives. When you mention this to Zaan he says:
“Arrakis’s ever-present dust prevents personal and vehicular shields from functioning even for short
periods, making them too expensive to maintain. House shields, like those protecting the Residence, are
more resilient, but the servicing costs are enormous.”
He then makes his way to the third car, leaving you alone with Varis and your personal guard, who wait
for you to get seated in the limocar before climbing into their own transport.
After you board the limocar with Varis
Varis,, the convoy leaves the aireld. Zaan remains to coordinate the
Nagara landings on your behalf. Varis polarizes the windows and produces a slab of black plastic. He
slides his thumb across its surface and there is a sudden deadness in the air around you. He has activated
a cone of silence, a device that uses out-of-phase image-vibration to allow you to speak condentially,
condentially,
without any eavesdroppers, living or mechanical in nature.
78

“Now we can talk,” he says.

The gamemaster should ’remind’ the players that Major Varis is a House Nagara loyalist, with a long history of
devoted service to their House. He was sent along to Arrakis early by the Countess as there was no other she
would trust with this invaluable advance work. The player characters may ask Varis:
@ Can Perro be trusted?

“Perro is one of the few people we can trust — as long as we maintain or improve spice production.

The Spacing
human Guild’
Guild’s
behavior. Hes objectives
would be aare his priority,
valuable ally.” but he is a shrewd diplomat and a sharp observer of
“In support of that assumption, we intercepted a coded communique from the Guild after we arrived
— perhaps Perro intended us to do so. We now know he heads the Guild’
Guild’ss intelligence network on
Arrakis. We assume his operatives act as counter-espionage agents and anti-saboteurs, working to
keep House Nagara productive and ensure spice production. His orders appear to be prevention
through deniable intervention.”

@ Is Kobus Zaan’s intelligence report reliable?

Varis reviews the report
report with a practiced
practiced eye. “Nothing is incorrect here,” “but it omits sev-
here,” he says, “but
eral key facts — unusual oversights for a Mentat, but not surprising given what we have learned since
our arrival.”:
@ ”Most of the non-operational equipment was sabotaged in the last 30 days. The saboteurs knew

how to render spice mining equipment inoperative. They have not been caught.”
@ ”Many sand workers have left Arrakis in the last ve weeks. Several left in style, suggesting they
had been paid, and paid well, to leave.”
@ ”Fremen attacks on House Nagara operations have been more effective than those against the
Harkonnen due to an inux of new weapons.”

@ Are the Harkonnen proving useful?

“Yes, but they are hated. Their governorship was brutal. Perro was diplomatic when he said the
“Yes,
Fremen are reminding House Nagara that we do not have complete authority.
authority. They are pushing back
against off-worlder cruelty.
cruelty. Their attacks may be a prelude to offering negotiations. Perro is right: we
need a way of dealing with the Fremen, a better way than Harkonnen ruthlessness. The Harkonnens
continue to underestimate them, to their regret.”

@ What is life on Arrakis like?

“Unforgiving. Imagine a world where everything is at best indifferent to you, or more likely,
openly hostile. Perro can tell you more. He’s
He’s been the Guild envoy here for several years. Knows
the Fremen better than he admits, I think.”

Following Varis’ report, ask the players:

@ Why Zaan may have omitted information from his report?
@ How they would prefer to deal with the Fremen?
When you have completed your discussion, read aloud:

Your
Your limocar stops unexpectedly
unexpectedly.. A rap on the window provokes
provokes Varis
Varis to deactivate the cone of silence,
depolarize the windows and unlock and unseal the door door.. Perro climbs inside gracefully
gracefully,, brushing at a bit
of dust on his grey tunic before bringing it into the limocar cabin.
“We’re about to enter Arrakeen,” he explains. “I’ll ride with you from here. My position as Judge of the
Change provides certain… security.”
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 79

The characters may question Perro about Arrakis. Ask them to make a Communicate
test, Difculty 1.
@ If they fail, Perro sits silently, watching the view of Arrakeen roll past the limocar’s

window.
@ If they succeed, for each success Perro shares some of his knowledge, providing it

doesn’t compromise him. Players can ask:

@ Does it ever rain on Arrakis?
“No. Arrakis has no precipitation.”

@ How do the inhabitants obtain water?

“Through windtraps, dew collectors, and reclamation.”

@ Why is water not imported to Arrakis?

“It is, but the transportation costs outweigh the benets if done on a large
scale. As prices are high, individual merchants can make a prot if they
supply local water dealers. But ecologically relevant volumes of water are too
expensive to move. Anyway
Anyway,, large scale importation would reduce scarcity
and cut the merchant’s prots, so they work to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

@ What is Arrakeen like?

“It is one of the largest cities on Arrakis, and one of the oldest. It is, histori-

cally,of
cally
city , the seat offor
Carthag planetary government,
themselves though
quite recently, andHouse
recently, Harkonnen
preferred built
it greatly.
greatly the
. They
found Arrakeen too rustic for their. tastes.”

SCENE :
THE MARKETPLACE
Read aloud:
CHEOPS
A multi-level pyra- Arrakeen is a thriving, ancient city. Its grey-walled architecture ranges from splendid villas to
mid board game shabby hovels, from wide plazas to intimate courts, from broad avenues to twisting alleys.
similar to chess. Slab-like structures, slanted walls, and windtraps break the monotony of its largely at skyline.
In the sook, people are everywhere: merchants peddle precious water with cries of
MATEAM
“Soo-soo-Sook!
“Soo-soo-Soo k! Ikhut-eigh!”; cloak-shrouded folk stand beside stands of baklawa;
A local eatery
that might be a holy men proselytize; groups play cheops outside disreputable-looking mateams; and
children dart between legs. Pervading over it all is the bitter cinnamon-smell of spice,
restaurant, tavern,
even perceptible through the limocar’
limocar’ss air lters.
or café depending on its
appointment, size and
clientele. not.
The characters can decide whether to explore the marketplace or not.
@ If they want to investigate the sook, Perro tries to discourage them. If they concede,
the convoy continues to the Residence (go to Scene 4).
@ If the characters insist on venturing into the arid Arrakeen morning, Perro agrees and
orders his guards to accompany them. He has no intention of allowing anything to
befall his charges.
@ They nd the population cautious but courteous, rather than sullen. Nevertheless, their
experience conrms their unfamiliarity with the people and customs of Arrakis.
Describe the following sights and ask each player which they nd strangest, asking them
to make a related test if interested:
@ The native population’s blue-within-blue eyes.

@ The lack of visible personal shields, yet blades are carried openly. A successful Battle

test at Difculty 2, indicates that none of those wearing a blade moves as if they have
any experience wearing personal shields.
80

@ A man spitting at the feet of another then embracing. A successful Difculty 2 UnderUnder--
stand test suggests that this gift of water must be a token of respect.
@ Citizens cloaked and masked, with only their eyes showing. A successful Difculty 2
Communicate test reveals that these may be Fremen, and that the Fremen culture
values privacy highly.
@ The trance-like state of those listening to barakas proclaiming the immanence of the
Lisan al-Gaib. A Difculty 2 Understand test suggests that this ’Lisan al-Gaib’ is some -
thing or someone with a messianic role, based on the way they respond to the name.
@ A water seller charging for even the smallest amount of water, which is dispensed
without spilling a drop.
If player characters question Perro about any of these, ask them to make Communicate
tests, Difculty 1. For every success, Perro provides an appropriate explanation:
@ “The blue eyes, the Eyes of Ibad, indicate spice addiction.”
@ “Arrakis is inimical to personal and vehicular shields, and the Fremen shun
them for their own reasons.” (The characters should know the rst of these
reasons, but the second part is news.)
@ “Spitting is a gift of the body’s moisture,
moisture, a token of respect.”
@ “These are a deeply religious people; the Lisan al-Gaib is ’The Voice from the
Outer World’, an off-world prophet in Fremen messianic myths.”
@ ’Water is the second most precious commodity on Arrakis — after spice.”

Once the characters decide to re-enter their vehicle, the convoy continues.

SCENE :
DEATH IN ARRAKEEN
Read aloud:
Leaving the sook, your convoy continues towards the Residence, following a thor-
oughfare through a deserted district. To your left is a row of dwellings, soot-stained
and boarded up. On the right, are blackened stumps of houses bordering a plaza
cordoned off by a makeshift barricade of transport crates and rubble.

@ If the characters ask about this, Perro explains: Give the play-
ers the Stories
@ “The area was subject to a Harkonnen purge of alleged radicals and their
families a year ago.” of Harkonnen
Violence asset card.
card.
@ “The accused were cast into the desert without stillsuits and left to die.”
@ “Stillsuits are body-suits designed to minimize water loss, reclaim water from
urine and feces, and siphon this into catchpockets as drinking water
water.. It’s not
the best-tasting water you’ll drink, but welcome if the alternative is none.”

Continue to read aloud:

Your
Your convoy is passing
passing the wrecked
wrecked plaza when searing lines of weapons re
re tear into
Nikula’ss vehicle. The car slews sideways, blocking the street.
Nikula’
Gunre hammers the remaining transports. Major Varis ducks out of your limocar,
marshalling your household guard into laying down covering re. Behind your vehicle,
Perro’ss personal guard follows suit. Perro yells, “Out! Out! You’re sitting ducks in here!”
Perro’
In seconds, you nd yourselves crouched behind the limocar in the midst of a re-
ght. Whoever is attacking you, they are lethal. Before you have even recovered your
wits, all the Harkonnen guards are already dead.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 81

Battle is being joined by your remaining soldiers, reduced in number though they
are. But your biggest concern is that at least one of the attackers is using a lasgun, a
deadly weapon more suited to the battleeld. With that in play you cannot use any
shields, as if they connect in any way the explosion would reduce Arrakeen to rubble.

Each player should make a Battle test, Difculty 2. Momentum gained can be spent to
’Obtain Information’ about what is going on.
For each point of Momentum spent the players can learn the following:
@ The attackers appear to be Fremen.
@ There aren’t many of them, but they have a lasgun which is doing devastating damage.
@ Out of the three sets of guards — yours, Perro’s, and those of House Harkonnen — the
Fremen are focusing their re on the Harkonnens.
@ The Fremen are lethal ghters, but somehow seem to be holding back a little, except
when it comes to killing Harkonnens.
What happens next depends on the players. They can join the battle and try to ght off the
Fremen. But their rst priority should be to get Perro to safety. Doing so is an extended task
with a Difculty of 3 and a Requirement of 12. Each player character can choose to add to the
requirement in a number of different ways:
@ Use Battle to offer covering re with a maula pistol or keep attackers at bay with a blade.

@ Use Communicate to issue orders to the other troops to help cover Perro’s escape.

@ Use Move to use the terrain and damaged vehicles as cover as they run.

@ Any player character may make a Discipline test at Difculty 2 to center themselves

and remain calm in the conict. Successfully doing so grants them the temporary Trait
’Calm Under Fire’ which makes all Difculties for the rest of this scene one step easier.
@ The player characters will each have time for three tests (which includes the Discipline
test) to achieve the requirement before the extended test is over.
If the players fail to meet the requirement, read aloud:
Give each player Pinned down by enemy re and at a loss to see a way out of the battleground you
an Injured
’ ’ nd yourselves trapped. You
You hear the sickening sound of the lasgun tear open a
Trait, and the broken vehicle near you that erupts in a reball of sand and rock. Pelted with debris
Perro’s attitude asset as you lose consciousness as you choke on dust and dirt.
’Disappointed in House
When you awaken Nikula is standing over you, issuing orders to medics. Thankfully
Nagara . ’

Perro is also alive but as badly hurt as you. As medics cluster around you, Nikula
seems dismissive of your condition.

“The Fremen ran like cowards eventually, but not until after all my guards were killed.
A shame your troops were not as dedicated in your protection. Anyway,
Anyway, we found
this” He drops a lasgun on the ground in front of you. “Its energy cell is used up of
course, but I’m sure even you notice it is an off world design. It seems these desert
animals have friends.”

Give the players If the players meet the requirement they get to safety. Perro is pleased with their help and
the Perro’s attitude impressed with their skill.
asset card as
If characters pursue the Fremen, they will be unable to catch them, but will nd the lasgun.
’ Impressed with House
It has been discarded, its cell cartridge fused, making it useless, but there is no trace of the
Nagara . ’

Fremen who wielded it. If they do not pursue the Fremen, Varis will recover the lasgun as
Give the players above. Passing an Understand test, Difculty 1, tells players it is of off-world manufacture.
the Lasgun asset
’ ’

After the attack, the characters may ask their escorts about the incident:
card.
@ Who attacked the convoy?
Nikula – “Fremen scum. We should have exter
exterminated
minated them long ago.”
Varis – “Fremen guerillas
guerillas from the desert sietches.”
82

Perro – “Fedaykin. Fremen death commandos. Warriors

Warriors dedicated to righting
wrongs committed against their people.”

@ Why might they have attacked the convoy?

Nikula – “Because they are irrational fanatics.”

Varis
Varis – “I am not certain.
certain. Hous
House
e Nagara
Nagara has
has done nothin
nothing
g to provok
provoke
e the Fremen
Fremen.”
.”
Perro – “Perhaps after living under Harkonnen rule they cannot conceive of off-
worlders being anything other than enemies.”

@ What should we do with the prisoner?

Nikula – “Surrender him to us. We will make him talk. Then we’ll execute him.
Slowly.. Publicly.
Slowly Publicly. Let him serve better use in death than he did in life.”
Varis – “Hold him
him for questioning. We can decide his fate when cooler
cooler heads
prevail.”
Perro – “Leave him in my custody. It’s unusual for Fremen to strike in Arrakeen.
There may be something here that requires more subtlety than a Harkonnen
blade. Fedaykin do not retreat, nor surrender.”

@ Can we interrogate the prisoner now?

Any/all – “No. There are pressing matters requiring your immediate attention.”

Players are now faced with three options:

1. Accede to Nikula’
Nikula’ss request that Perro surrenders Harun for interrogation. They lose
Perro’s respect, but the next test the player characters make with the Harkonnen has Give the play-
the Difculty reduced by 1 as they have shown they are allies. ers the Perro’s
attitude asset
2. Take responsibility for Harun and hand him over to Varis. Perro will not be happy
card as ’Disappointed in
about this, but will not think less of the player characters. Having shown their
House Nagara’ if they do
allegiance to the Harkonnens the player characters may reduce the Difculty of their
not already have it.
next test with the Harkonnens by 1.
If they already have the
3. Oppose Nikula’s demand and leave Harun in Perro’s custody.
card as ’Impressed with
Read aloud: House Nagara’ they
should return to the gam-
reinforcements arrive to clear the
As you decide Harun’s fate, Harkonnen and Nagara reinforcements emaster.
thoroughfare. Perro reorganizes
reorganizes the convoy and you nd yourselves sitting opposite
the Judge of the Change, again, in the battle-scarred limocar. Give the players
the Perro’s atti-
tude asset card
If players have the Perro Attitude ’Impressed with House Nagara’ trait, or they pass a
as ’Impressed with House
Communicate test, Difculty 1 Perro explains:
Nagara’ if they do not
@ “House Harkonnen has been brutal in its administration of Arrakis.” already have it.
@ “The Fremen, in return, have been a thorn in House Harkonnen’s side, regularly
attacking Harkonnen spice harvesting.”
@ “Their attacks have increased since the Emperor announced the Harkonnens’
withdrawal. Perhaps the Fremen sense victory, or a new opportunity for negotiation?”
@ “If an understanding could be reached between House Nagara and the Fremen,
the spice may ow more easily… and protably.”

If they do not pass the test, then the journey is spent in silence or small talk that does not
provide any useful information.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 83

ROJ VARIS
Major in House Nagara’s
Nagara’s Household Guard DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
(Notable Supporting Character)
Varis is one of Nagara’ss oldest and most experi-
Nagara’ DUTY: 7 In service lies honor.
enced ofcers. He is not as young as he was but
remains a lethal ghter and a cunning strategist. FAITH: 5

Traits: Diplomat, Arrogant J U S T I CE : 6 My House is just.

TALENTS POWER: 4
@ Decisive Action (Battle): In a conict,

when Varis spends Threat and successfully T RU T H : 5

eliminates an opponent’s asset, he may
spend 2 Threat and remove a second asset.
Assets: Military Training, Maula Pistol, Sword, SKILL FOCUSES
Kindjal
BATTLE: 7 Long Blades, Tactics

COMMUNICATE: 4

DISCIPLINE: 6 Command

MOVE: 5

UNDERSTAND: 5

TARAS NIKULA
Captain in House Harkonnen’s Arrakeen Garrison DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
(Notable Supporting Character)
Nikula is a reasonably young ofcer,
ofcer, eager to DUTY: 7 By will alone I rise.
prove himself to his House. He has risen quickly
though the Harkonnen ranks through deceit and FAITH: 4
brutal efciency.
J U S T I CE : 4
Traits: Diplomat, Arrogant
POWER: 6 The weak are born to serve.
TALENTS
@ Decisive Action (Battle): In a conict,
T RU T H : 5
when Nikula spends Threat and successfully
eliminates an opponent’s asset, he may
spend 2 Threat and remove a second asset. SKILL FOCUSES
@ Driven: After spending 2 Threat (as
BATTLE: 4 Rie
Determination), Nikula may roll 1d20. If the
result is equal to or lower than his Discipline
COMMUNICATE: 7 Interrogation
rating, the Threat is immediately returned to
the pool.
DISCIPLINE: 5
@ The Slow Blade: When making an attack with
a melee weapon and spending Threat, Nikula MOVE: 5
may choose an enemy asset within their zone
to ignore. UNDERSTAND: 6
Assets: Military Training, Maula Pistol, Kindjal
84

HOU S E S OLDI E R S
The household guard for House Nagara, House DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
Harkonnen, and Perro’s bodyguards are all essen-
tially the same in terms of training and skill, so use DUTY: 5
the following for all of them.
FAITH: 5
When picking a Drive they instead just use a
generic level of 5 for any action. 5
J U ST I CE :

Traits: Soldiers, Loyal POWER: 5

Talents: None
Assets: Military Training, Maula Pistol, Sword, T RU T H : 5
Kindjal

SKILL FOCUSES

BATTLE: 6 Long Blades

COMMUNICATE: 4

DISCIPLINE: 5

MOVE: 5

UNDERSTAND: 4

FEDAYKIN
FEDA YKIN FIG HTERS
The Fedaykin are usually absolutely lethal, but here DRIVE S TAT E M E N T
they are choosing to ght below their ability as
they have a different plan. DUTY: 7

For any Drive they instead use a generic level of 7 FAITH: 7

Talents: None
J U ST I CE : 7
Assets: Crysknives, Maula Pistols
POWER: 7

T RU T H : 7

SKILL FOCUSES

BATTLE: 6 Knife-ghter

COMMUNICATE: 4

DISCIPLINE: 5

MOVE: 5

UNDERSTAND: 4
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 85

A C T I I I , P A RT 
T H E S P I C E W I L L F L OW
Arriving at the Residency the player characters must deal Objectives:
with several notable guests and decide what to do with a @ Put the player characters under pressure as various

Fremen prisoner.
prisoner. They must also begin running the spice parties make their demands.
operation and decide how to deal with Fremen insurgents, @ Allow the player characters to gain or lose new allies.

@
who are possibly being supplied by House Vernius. But a Force the player characters to rely on their Harkonnen
meeting with the Fremen may prove there is more going allies, perhaps against their better judgment, as doubts
on than they suspect. about House Harkonnen’
Harkonnen’ss loyalty grow.
grow.

SCENE :
THE POLITICS OF PROFIT
Read aloud:
Perro’s convoy draws up outside the Residence of Arrakeen. It is impressive. Com-
posed of cyclopean blocks smoothed by time and sand abrasion, it rises buttressed
and arched to scowl over the city
city.. Narrow, mullioned windows give it the appearance
of an ancient king grown mean with avarice.
Perro leads you up a broad processional stair anked by Varis and Nikula. The cap -
tured Fremen is taken away. At the Residence’s towering doors, men in Harkonnen
livery bow and open the imposing portal.
Beyond is the Grand Vestibule, empty and silent but for the murmur of distant voices.
Perro bids you follow him across an expanse of mosaic depicting the Battle of Corrin
and into the vast Great Hall beyond. Two
Two stories high, it is crowned with a vaulting
ceiling supported by wooden crossbeams incalculably expensive to transport to
Arrakis. Shadows gather there like storm clouds. It’s clear the Residence is a place of
immense, echoing spaces intended to remind individuals of their insignicance in the
face of imperial power.
As the voices draw nearer,
nearer, Varis stations his men around the room. Nikula and his
troops guard the entrance. A far door opens to admit a squat, ery-haired Harkonnen
male. He leads a robed Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, a thin and pale Guild envoy,
and a handsome man bearing the CHOAM insignia on his tunic. Though you arrived
rst, you have the impression that you have been brought into their presence rather
than they into yours.

Perro draws aside.

Reveal the The stocky Harkonnen beams and his teeth shine white in his ruddy complexion.
character cards “Nobles of House Nagara,” he says, “please accept my sincere condolences for the
for: loss of the Countess and permit me to introduce myself. I am Vadim Saarela, Harkon-
Vadim
nen Secretary-Liaison to Arrakis and your humble servant. These honored guests,
@ Vadim
Va Saarlea,
dim Saarlea
united in grief at your loss, are Ustad Turan, CHOAM Spice Auditor,
Auditor, Cenric, the
Harkonnen Spymaster
Guild’ss new envoy to Arrakis, and Reverend Mother Qadira Lariel Narilan of the Bene
Guild’
@ Ustad Turan, CHOAM
Gesserit Sisterhood. They have some concerns.”
Representative
@ Cenric, Guild Envoy While you were all hoping to go straight to your rooms and freshen up after the
@ RM Qadira Lariel trip, if not rest a moment, it seems that is not to be the case. Servants appear with
Narilan refreshments and each of your guests clearly wants to engage you with some issue or
another.. The trick will be nding out what they want and making an ally of them.
another
86

VADIM SAARELA, HARKONNEN SPYMASTER ON ARRAKIS

Saarela is a stocky character with vivid red hair who always DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
seems a little too pleased with himself. While he is polite
and well mannered, it is hard to believe it is more than DUTY: 7 My House before all.
a mask. He knows House Harkonnen is plotting against
House Nagara, but will work hard to keep that a secret. FAITH: 4
Saarela wants to know if the player characters still trust
House Harkonnen. Assuring him they value the support of J U S TI CE : 5

the Baron is all he needs to hear. POWER: 6 Security is achieved through

Traits: Spy, Mastermind the exercise of power.

TALENTS: T RU T H : 5 Y
Your
our truth is malleable;
malleable;
mine absolute.
@ Direct: Saarela may automatically command an ally

or subordinate to act upon his turn, even if that ally

has already acted in the round prior. They may act SKILL FOCUSES
later in the round on their own turn. He may assist
them in this action, if desired. BATTLE: 5

@ Passive Scrutiny: Once per scene, Saarela knows COMMUNICATE: 7 Interrogation

one signicant detail about anything he encounters,
assuming it can be gleaned through observation. DISCIPLINE: 6 Resolve
@ Subtle Words (Communicate): When attempting a
Communicate test with an individual, Saarela can buy MOVE: 5
one more d20 by spending Threat and may create a Deductive Reasoning
free new Trait to apply to that individual. UNDERSTAND: 6

Assets: Maula Pistol, Kindjal

USTAD TURAN, CHOAM SPICE AUDITOR

Turan is far too attractive to be taken seriously as an
auditor. He dresses stylishly and will do his best to charm
auditor. DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
anyone he takes a fancy to. While he has money and
power already,
already, a marriage into a noble House would be DUTY: 7 CHOAM is balance.
the icing on the cake for him.
FAITH: 5
Turan wants to make more prot for CHOAM so he can
rise higher in its ranks. As such he wants to negotiate a J U S TI CE : 6 The pendulum always swings back.
better cut of the spice prots for CHOAM. To impress
Turan the player characters can promise a better cut for POWER: 5 Power without balance is chaos.
CHOAM, but they will be handing away their own prots.
At the cost of 1 extra Momentum (after a successful T RU T H : 4
Understand test) they can realize that convincing him they
will harvest more spice than the Harkonnen will keep both
CHOAM and House Nagara in prot. SKILL FOCUSES
Traits: CHOAM Auditor, Inquisitive
BATTLE: 4
TALENTS
@ Intense Study: Once per scene, Turan
Turan may use COMMUNICATE: 6 Charm
Understand to make a skill test in place of any other
skill and counts as having Focus for that test. DISCIPLINE: 6 Self-control
Assets: CHOAM Targets, Favors with House Harkonnen
MOVE: 4
 UNDERSTAND: 6 Analysis

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 87

INFORMAL FORMALITIES
Read aloud or paraphrase the following as the player characters are forced to confront their guests.

While your characters may be tired of these games, there is both opportunity and danger here. Each of your new
acquaintances can be a potential ally, but upsetting them may be more trouble than you can handle. Things are
going to be hard enough, you need a few more friends.
Thankfully, each of your guests is quite busy themselves so this gathering will only go on for so long. In that time
Thankfully,
you need to nd out what they really want, and see if you can convince them you can deliver it.

This conict doesn’t need a map as you are all milling about in the same area (zone) so there is no need to move
between zones.
Each character will be able to make two tests during the gathering as they engage the guests in conversation.
Any character might assist instead of making the test themselves, but this still counts as one of their tests.
Each character should take turns to decide who they are going to speak to and make a test, or assist someone
else’s attempt.

QADIRA LARIEL NARILAN, REVEREND MOTHER

Qadira is not very old at all, but under her veil likes to make
out she is a little older than she is, as it makes others underes - DRIVE S TAT E M E N T
timate her. She is dedicated to the Bene Gesserit but has little
concern for the politics of spice. However, she will feign inter- DUTY: 7 We protect our own.
est in spice to obfuscate her true intensions. Y
Your
our Sisters are always
FAITH: 6
behind you.
Reverend Mother Narilan wants to observe the new ruler
of House Nagara and determine how their new regime will J U ST I CE : 5
impact Imperial politics. The Countess was a known factor as
the Sisterhood had studied her, the player characters are not. POWER: 4
Traits: Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother, Reticent, Shrewd and Truth is found in small
T RU T H : 8
Incisive things.
TALENTS:
@ Hyperawareness: Reverend Mother Narilan can spend SKILL FOCUSES
1 Threat and receive two pieces of information about
a person, environment, or situation that might not be BATTLE: 6
immediately apparent but could be gleaned through
observation. COMMUNICATE: 5 Empathy
@ Other Memory: As inheritor of the past memories of all 7
DISCIPLINE: Observe
Reverend Mothers in her line, Narilan can call upon those
memories in situations where such memories would be of MOVE: 5 Grace
use, gaining three automatic successes.
@ Prana-bindu: Her Bene Gesserit training allows Narilan UNDERSTAND: 6
complete control over her physical body and its processes.
She may re-roll a single d20 on any Move or Discipline test
relying on this control.
@ V
Voice
oice:: This secret Bene Gesserit mind control technique
allows Narilan to spend 1–3 Threat to gain that number
of automatic successes for a Communicate test made to
inuence a chosen target. The more successes, the more
overt the use of the Voice becomes. She may also buy
automatic successes to resist uses of Voice against her.
Assets: Knife, Bene Gesserit Acolyte
88

CENRIC, SP
SPACING
ACING GUI LD ENVOY TO ARRAKIS
Cenric is a bookish man who is a skilled accountant and DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
banker.. He dresses quite plainly but still in very expensive
banker
clothes and bears the Guild emblem proudly. DUTY: 7 The spice must ow.
He is only concerned about spice and is worried about 6
FAITH: The Guild is what matters.
the Fremen attacks. He wants to know the player char-
acters can handle the Fremen, either with diplomacy or 5
J U S TI C E:
force (he cares little which).
Traits: Envoy, Spacing Guild, Authoritarian and Intellectual POWER: 7 The Guild is the arterial system of the
universe. Spice its lifeblood.
TALENTS: 4
T RU T H :
@ Driven: After spending 2 Threat (as Determination),

Cenric may roll 1d20. If the result is equal to or lower

than his Discipline rating, the Threat is immediately SKILL FOCUSES
returned to the pool.
@ Subtle Words (Communicate): When attempting a BATTLE: 4
Communicate test with an individual, Cenric can buy
one more d20 by spending Threat and may create a COMMUNICATE: 6 Diplomacy
free new Trait to apply to that individual.
DISCIPLINE: 7 Command
Assets: Spacing Guild Concerns, Spacing Guild
Demands MOVE: 4

UNDERSTAND: 6 Imperial Politics

All the tests will be contested rolls against the guest each character is talking to. The test can either be
Understand to gure out what they want, or Communicate to convince them House Nagara can help them.
Each guest sets the Difculty with their roll (as per a standard contest) and will use the same skill as the player
characters, albeit with a different Drive.
If an Understand test against a non-player character is successful, the Difculty of any Communicate test with
that NPC is reduced by 1.
The non-player character tests are summarized as follows:
@ Vadim
Vadim Saarlela
Saarlela will use Duty (7) as he is loyal to the Harkonnens.
@ This makes his target numbers: Communicate 14, Understand 13.
@ He can apply his Resolve focus to the Understand test.
@ Ustad Turan will use Justice (6) as he believes getting the best deal for CHOAM is right.
@ This makes his target numbers: Communicate 12, Understand 12.
@ He can apply his Data Analysis focus to the Understand test.
@ Cenric will use his Faith (6) as he believes in the Guild and wants the spice to ow.
@ This makes his target numbers: Communicate 12, Understand 12.
@ He can apply his Diplomacy focus to the Communicate test.
@ Reverend Mother Qadira will use her Truth (8) as she wants to see between the politics going on.
@ This makes her target numbers: Communicate 13, Understand 14.
@ She can apply her Empathy focus to the Communicate test.
Note that anyone with the Trait ’Bene Gesserit’ can apply that to make tests with Qadira one Difculty level
easier.. But only if they are not assisted by anyone else as the Sisterhood keeps its secrets between themselves.
easier
@ If a player character fails either test they simply fail to learn anything or make an ally.
@ If they succeed in the Understand test they learn what that character wants and get a bonus to their Communi
Communi--
 cate tests. See that character s description for what that is.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 89

Give the players @ If they succeed in the Communicate test they convince the character they can provide
the character character’s card to repre-
what they want and make them an ally. They may then take that character’s
cards of any sent their good favor. They may use them once as an asset where appropriate.
guests they made allies of.
How each player uses their character’s tests is up to them. They may feel it more important
to learn everything than gain allies. They may also not want to know more about some of the
guests.
If no one talks to (makes any test against) any particular guest, that guest is insulted to be
ignored and gains the trait ’Disgruntled’
’Disgruntled’.. This will make tests one step more Difcult if the
player characters meet them later on.
Once each player character has had the opportunity to make two tests the gathering
is over and the guests will leave for their own quarters in Arrakeen. Sareela and Perro will
remain a little longer, and can be asked questions about the guests when they are gone.
They might wish to ask their questions separately
separately,, as the information provided by Saarela
and Perro differs dramatically (and even conicts):
@ What do we know about Turan, the spice auditor?
Saarela – “Turan has been ambitious to rise through CHOAM’s administrative
ranks. He will squeeze House Nagara to maximize spice production, wringing you
out dryer than a merchant’s wash cloth out on the sook.”
Perro – “He’s
“He’s a fair-mi
fair-minded
nded man driven to keep galactic trade ourishing. He is
neither sentimental nor corrupt, simply administering to the dictates of CHOAM

and its business practices. It’

It’ss never personal. The Harkonnens dislike him.”
@ What is known of Cenric, the Guild envoy?
Saarela – “The man is arrogant and concerned about Fremen attacks on spice
production. He cares only for the ow of spice from Arrakis to the Guild.”
Perro – “He is a Guildsman. Without the Guild, the Imperium would collapse.
This is something we should always remember.
remember. It is better to stand with him
than against him. Without the Guild, a House is stranded and unable to move its
goods.”

@ What do we know of Narilan, the Reverend Mother?

Saarela – “A Bene Gesserit witch. Never trust her. Never be alone with her. Watch
your movements and thoughts around her.”
her.”

Perro – “The Reverend Mother follows her own path. She is secretive, subtle, and
preoccupied with plotting possible interrelations between the Great Houses. Her
motives are unknown.”

@ What do we know of Saarela (the player characters can ask Varis)?

Varis – “The Harkonnen
Harkonnen spymaster on on Arrakis. He shares
shares information reluctantly
with House Nagara. His affability and charm are an act. He has planned most of
the Harkonnen operations on Arrakis.”
Perro – “A man to watch. He is loyal only to House Harkonnen.”

@ How can House Nagara meet CHOAM’s increased spice targets?

“Initially, you should broker some sort of peace with the Fremen that
Perro – “Initially,
does not destroy your reputation or your House.”
Saarela – “Allow House Harkonnen to advise you. We have experience harvesting
spice and controlling the Fremen insurgents. Follow me.”
90

SCENE :
TAKING COMMAND
Read aloud:
After Perro excuses himself, Saarela guides you to an operations center staffed by
Harkonnen personnel overseeing spice mining. House Nagara workers assist them.
Nikula watches from the shadows as Kobus Zaan and Dr. Erika Ganio greet you.
Ganio’s face is etched with worry lines. “I know you must be exhausted,” she says,
Ganio’s
“but we must set our strategy for spice mining. Very little of our equipment is in the
eld. You
You need to decide where to deploy our harvesters. Kobus Zaan has a strategy
that might benet us.”
Zaan steps forward. “Considering House Nagara’s
Nagara’s tentative grip on Arrakis, I have
developed a plan to guarantee we meet our new CHOAM quota and satisfy our
friends in the Guild.”

The players may wish to know more about spice mining equipment:
@ What are scout ornithopters?
Ganio – “The ornithopters that you are familiar with are common throughout the
Imperium, mimicking the ight mechanics of birds. They are just as common on
Arrakis. Those used for scouting spice are organized into small groups led by a
light ornithopter called ’Spotter Control’, which watches and protects its group.”

@ What are carryalls?

Ganio – “Carryalls are massive airborne transports that move spice mining equip-
ment like harvester factories between spice deposits, especially when sandworms
are drawn to the rhythmic churning of the harvester’
harvester’ss operations.”

@ What are harvesters?

Ganio – “Harvesters or harvester factories are large, tracked machines deployed
on spice blows. Essentially, they sift through immense amounts of sand and
extract valuable spice. Carryalls deploy them in the eld.”

@ What is the source of the spice?

Ganio – “No one knows for certain. Spice appears on the surface of the desert
where it is harvested and processed. The conditions on Arrakis are too difcult
to undertake deep desert research and the sandworms make any exploration
dangerous.”

@ What are ’sandworms’?

Zaan – “Sandworms are enormous beasts, sometimes as much as 400 meters
long. They swim through the sand. They are aggressive and capable of swallow-
ing a harvester factory whole.”

Continue to read aloud or paraphrase: Bring out the

spice operations
In this next section you will have to manage your spice harvesting operation together.
map, the havest-
You
You will have to take risks to manage
manage your equipment and
and resources in the hope of
ing operation tokens, and
meeting or even exceeding the Imperial quotas you have been given.
the spice blow modier
We will be playing out several harvesting operations throughout the next few scenes, tokens.
so your fortunes may rise or fall depending on your actions.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 91

SPICE HARVESTING OVERVIEW

Spice harvesting requires several tests and there is also an can reveal some or even all of the spice blow tokens to see
element of random fortune. what their modiers are.
On the map you will notice it is split into ten zones. These Then the players get to place their harvester tokens on any
represent the various areas of Arrakis you might focus your of the zones as they choose. They can spread them out or
operations on. even put them all in the same zone. Once they are placed,
all unrevealed spice blow tokens are revealed (turned over).
The gamemaster will place a few random spice blow
tokens (dened by a table later) on the map which will Next a series of tests is made to determine how well the
modify the difculty of tests made in that area. They may spice operation goes for that day.
be positive or negative.
At the end of these tests the players will have a net result
The players rst make an Understand test to see if they can for how well their spice operation has gone. They can also
properly analyse their spice managers’ predictions about opt to invest in their operation to acquire more harvesting
where the best places to harvest are. If they roll well they equipment to expand their operation for the next session.

S P I C E H A RV E S T I N G I N D E T A I L
1. DETERMINE SPICE BLOWS
The gamemaster rolls secretly on the following table, the result shows how many spice blow
tokens they should place face down on the map so the modier number is hidden. Only
one may be placed in any zone.

2. ACCEPT OR ASSIST
HARKONNEN REJECT
A SSISTANCE
ANCE
The Harkonnens are keen to
help House Nagara, in return
for a share of the prot. As
a group the players should
decide if they are accepting
Harkonnen assistance for this spice
session. If they do, all Battle and Move tests have their Difculty reduced by 1. However,
all Discipline tests have their Difculty increased by 1. If they refuse Harkonnen assistance
there are no modiers.
Mark whether they have accepted Harkonnen assistance or not using the Harkonnen sigil
token and placing it on the spice tracker.

3. SPICE ANAL
ANA LYSIS TEST
One of the player characters must make a Difculty 2 Understand test, and can have the
assistance of up to two other player characters. If they succeed the players may spend 1
Momentum to reveal any spice blow token on the map. They may reveal as many as they
choose to spend Momentum for.

4. PLACE HARVESTER
H ARVESTER OPERATIONS
Give the players
The players begin with four Harvesting Operations tokens. They may place them in any
four Harvester
zone on the map. They may place multiple tokens in the same zone. Through investment
Operations tokens.
they may increase this number for later sessions.

5. ROLL FOR WORM ATTACK

ATTACK
Any harvesting operation in a rich spice area has a high chance of attracting a worm. For
each Harvesting Operation token, roll on the following table to see if a worm makes an
attack before the harvester can nish its work.
Find the row that relates to the spice blow token in that zone. Roll 1d20 for each Harvest-
ing Operation token in that zone. On a result as shown on the table a worm arrives and
swallows the harvester.
harvester. That token is returned to the gamemaster. In all other cases a
 worm may have arrived but the crew manage to call a carryall in time.

92

@ If more than one harvester is in the same zone, add +2 to the dice result
for each harvester in the zone beyond the rst. So if two harvesters are in
the same zone, +2 is added to the die result for both tests.
@ If a worm does attack the player characters have a chance to save their
harvester. One of the player characters can attempt a Difculty 3 Move
test, with up to two other player characters assisting. If successful the
harvester does not produce any spice this session (is removed from play)
but is not returned to the gamemaster.
@ If multiple harvesters are attacked other player characters can attempt the same Move test. Each player
character can only make one test or assist in one test once each spice session. They have a lot of area to cover
and can’t be everywhere at once to help their operation.
6. ROLL FOR FREMEN ATTACK
The forces of House Vernius and the Fremen are a constant danger
danger.. They can attack the operation at any time.
For each harvester token in play the gamemaster should roll 1d20 and if the result is 15 or more that operation
is attacked. A maximum of three attacks can occur in any spice session, so once three attacks have been rolled,
no further rolls are made.
@ If the trait Fremen Enemy is in play, add +4 to the roll to see if an attack occurs. A maximum of ve attacks can occur.
For each attack, player characters can mount a defensive operation. For each attack a player character may
make a Difculty 3 Battle test, with up to two other player characters assisting. If any of these player characters
have already made Move tests to save a harvester from a worm attack the Difculty is increased by 1. Each

player character may only make or assist in one Battle test each spice session.
@ If the test is successful the attack is repulsed and the harvester can continue its work.

@ If the test is failed the attack is repulsed only because the harvester is rescued by a carryall. That harvester

will produce no spice this session but is returned to the players.

@ If the test is not made or 0 successes are gained the harvester is destroyed and the token returned to the

gamemaster.
7. ROLL FOR SPICE PRODUCTION
For each spice harvester token still in play a player character may make a Difculty 3 Discipline test. The Dif-
culty is modied by the number on the spice blow token in that zone. If that player character has made a
Discipline test this spice session the Difculty is increased by 1.

For each harvester:

@ If the test is a success the harvester production this session is Excellent, the players gain 1 investment point

and 1 spice point.

@
If the test
spice is failed but at least 1 success is gained the harvester production is Acceptable, the players gain 0
points.
@ If no successes are gained in the test the harvester production is Poor, the players suffer –1 spice points.
For each investment point gained, the players may add another harvester token to their pool for the next
spice session. Investment points can be saved and a maximum of two new harvester tokens can be gained in
any spice session (they take a certain amount of time to be built and shipped).
Saved investment points can also be spent instead of Momentum on any spice session test.

8. TOTAL UP SPICE POINTS

Total up the spice points gained (or lost) this session:
@ If you began the spice session with fewer than three harvesters, reduce your spice points by 1 for each harvester

under 3.
@ If you began the spice session with more than ve harvesters, add 1 spice point for each harvester over 5.

Results:
@ If the number is positive the spice session is Exceeding Targets.

@ If the total spice points is 0 the spice production is Meeting Targets.

@ If the spice point total is negative the spice production is Going Badly.
 The gamemaster should record the result of the session and then continue with the adventure.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 93

After this spice session is complete, read aloud:

Dr. Ganio suggests that House Nagara technology could counter some of the chal-
Dr.
lenges you face. She bids you attend her in the laboratory the following morning.
With night falling, Perro returns to escort you to your quarters. As you accompany
him, he activates a cone of silence. “I have troubling news. The weapons retrieved
during the Fremen attack have molecular manufacturing signatures pointing to Ix. I
have sent the weapons to Dr. Ganio for further analysis.”

Perro pauses. “I tell you this in the hope you solve the mystery internally and secure
your ef without requiring my direct involvement. The Guild values its neutrality.”

If the characters ask who the Ixians are , read the following aloud:
The planet Ix is famous for high-quality manufacturing of a wide variety of products,
including weaponry. It is home to House Vernius. It is highly secretive, their technologi -
cal secrets guarded heavily. Some say this is because they aunt the Imperial rule stat -
ing that no machine may be made in the semblance of a human mind. Whether they
are or not, any House whose income depends upon manufacturing has a rival in Ix.

SCENE :
“WE TEST OUTSIDERS WITH OUR LIVES.

DO NOT DOUBT OUR CONVICTION.”

Read aloud:
Perro takes you deeper into the Residence. “We have the Fedaykin that was captured
this morning in my custody. His name is Harun. We should interrogate him now.”
Perro leads you down a succession of stairways, passing through the ancient archae-
ology of the Residence, from basement to sub-basement to an oubliette of cells. A
single guard from Perro’s
Perro’s detachment snaps to attention, then leaves at a nod from
Perro.
“In here,” he says, taking you into a cell lit by a white glowglobe. The Fremen is
strapped to a surgical chair but appears unharmed. “He will have useful information
— if you can make him talk. How do you wish to proceed?”

The characters now face a moral choice. Ask them what they plan:
LOSING PERRO’S @ Do they wish to torture Harun?
ALLEGIANCE
@ If they answer yes,
y es, Perro objects. To overrule him costs them the Perro’s
Perro’s allegiance.
If they have the
card ’Perro’s Atti- @ Do they want to bring in Nikula; renowned as he is for extracting information from
tude: Impressed prisoners?
with House Nagara’ they
@ If they do, they
t hey lose Perro’s allegiance.
must return it to the gam-
emaster. @ Do they want to try to win Harun’s trust by talking and not interrogating?
If they do not have the @ If they do, they retain the Perro’s allegiance.
card Perro’s Attitude
@ Ask if they also want to summon Narilan , the Bene Gesserit Truthsayer.
they gain the Complica-
tion ’Perro’s Attitude: @ Narilan refuses if Nikula is to be present, or if they plan on torture. She takes no
Disappointed in House active role but helps interpret Harun’s responses, decreasing the Difculty of the
Nagara’..
Nagara’ interrogation by 1. She will also hear everything and report it to the Bene Gesserit.
If they already have this The characters may ask Harun a series of questions. Whatever strategy they adopt with the
card his opinion of them stoic Harun has implications for House Nagara’s fortunes. If Narilan is present she can conrm
can’t be any worse. Harun’s answers are true.
94

Whatever method they pick there is no test to get Harun to talk. Harun actually wants to talk.
It’s why he got captured. However, his answers will lead the player characters along different
paths depending on their choices.
If the players have opted to avoid torture they may make a Communicate test at Difculty 3
(–1 if they have Narilan’s help). If they succeed they realize Harun is sharing information much
more easily than expected.
Harun’s answer differs depending on the approach. If an approach is not listed it is not a way
to gain that information. If Narilan is present she will volunteer her additional insight.
Begin the interrogation, with these likely questions:
@ “Why did you attack our convoy?”
@ Torture: “You despoil our world.” (Go to next question)
@ Nikula’s interrogation: “You are all Harkonnen dogs. Our world will be
cleansed with your blood.” (Go to next question)
@ Win Harun’s trust: “We test outsiders with our lives. Do not doubt our
conviction.”
@ Narilan adds if present: “Interesting. The Fremen is testing you. That is his purpose.”

@ “Who sent you to attack us?”

@ Torture: “Shai-Hulud, may his coming sweep you from our world.”
@ Nikula’s interrogation: “You are like wind in the desert. You pass on, leaving
nothing to mark your passing.”
@ Win Harun’s trust: “Who sent you? Do you follow, or do you lead, Nagara?”
@ Narilan adds if present: “He’s a clever one.“

@ “Why do you test us?”

@ Win Harun’s
Harun’s trust: “What is a Knife without the Will of the Hand? Are you the
Knife, or the Will?”
@ Narilan adds if present: “Listen to his question, for it contains his answer. He
has decided what to do. Speak, Fremen. The future waits on you.”

@ “Who supplied Ixian weapons to the Fremen??”

@ Torture: “Go to the deserted, blue-walled merchant’s house in the Plaza of
Sihaya. There you will nd what you seek.” Give the players
the card Fremen
@ Nikula’s interrogation: “The answer is in the asking, Harkonnen dog.” Read
Nikula’s
Enemy.
Attitude: Enemy.
the following aloud:
.
Nikula suddenly slips his kindjal between Harun’s
Harun’s ribs. “He was playing
games with us,” he snaps, stalking from the cell. Harun spits blood at Nikula’s
Nikula’s
back. “The deserted, blue-walled house in the Plaza of Sihaya,” he gasps.
“There you will nd what you seek.”
@ Win Harun’s trust: “Men whose only value is their water.” He spits at your feet.
@ Narilan adds if present: “You
“You have won his trust.”

@ “Which men?”
@ Win Harun’s trust: “Go to the red doored house on the Street of Hawks at
midnight any night until the larger moon is full. There you will nd the answer
answer..
@
 @ Narilan adds if present: He s holding something back, yet he means you no
ill-will. There is a trap… somewhere, but not for you. Not anymore.”

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 95

After the interrogation, allow the players to discuss:

@ Why did Harun surrender?
@ Do they trust his information?
@ Who might be supplying the Fremen with Ixian weapons?
They should have either learned that they should visit the Plaz a of Sihaya or the Street of
Hawks next.
@ If the players have Perro’s allegiance and know of the Street of Hawks , Perro
speculates:
“Harun’s surrender may have been a way of testing your integrity. How you
deal with a prisoner reveals much. The Fremen adopted this strategy so House
Nagara knew their overture was serious.”

@ If the players have Perro’

Perro’ss allegiance and know of the Plaza of Sihaya , Perro speculates:
Perro explains: “The plaza is in a deserted Arrakeen district thought to be haunted
by ghosts of vengeful Fremen massacred by Harkonnen forces years ago.”

Whatever the answers, Nikula and Saarela re-emphasize the need for an aggressive
response:
@ Nikula: “Y
“You
ou must purge all Fremen from Arrakeen.”
@ Saarela: “There must be public executions of suspected leaders and agitators.

“Known sietches must be bombed.”

They both admonish the player characters to grant them further powers to detain and
’control’ the Fremen. If the player characters agree give them the Fremen Attitude:
Give the players Enemy’ card. This trait will make all dealings with the Fremen one Difculty level higher.
the Fremen Atti-
The characters should now wish to visit either the Plaza of Sihaya or the Street of
tude: Enemy card.
Hawks (Scene 5) but Zaan will remind them they are due to inspect the spice mining
operation early tomorrow (Scene 4). If they insist on going this night skip to Scene 5. But
the players will miss Scene 4 and discover that they have lost a harvester and its crew (for
effects of this see the end of Scene 4).
If Harun survived the interrogation, the characters now face a choice: to free him or keep
him prisoner.
@ They can order him released, which Saarela, Zaan, and Nikula will all disagree with.
They will secretly increase their persecution of the Fremen in the name of House
Nagara. They will also send assassins after Harun, but he will dispatch them easily.
Harun will assume the assassins were sent by the player characters if they did anything
but try to gain his trust, gaining them the ’Fremen Attitude: Enemy’ Trait card.
@ They can try and sneak Harun out of prison which requires a Move test at Difculty
4. Everyone can assist and should detail how they help the jail break from their own
facility.
@ They can walk him out of the prison themselves. It will deeply annoy the Harkonnens,
but they will be unable to do anything about it or send assassins.
@ If they do nothing Harun remains captive and dies within 24 hours, victim to a slow
poison he took before the mission. The antidote would have been administered had he
returned to his sietch.
96

HARUN, FEDA
FEDAYKIN
YKIN WARRIOR
WARRIOR
Harun is a rather nondescript young man, but DRIVE S TAT E M E N T
absolutely dedicated to his tribe and people. He
is willing to die for his cause, and to see if House DUTY: 6 My water belongs to my tribe.
Nagara can be trusted.
FAITH: 7 Doubt not the power of God.
Traits: Fedaykin Warrior, Sietch Jurf ’ahmar, Taci-
turn and Stoic 6
J U ST I CE : In blood there is justice.
TALENTS 5
POWER:
@ The Slow Blade: When making an attack with

a melee weapon and spending Threat, Harun 5

T RU T H :
may choose an enemy asset within his zone to
ignore.
Assets (if free): Crysknife, Stillsuit (none as a captive) SKILL FOCUSES

BATTLE: 7 Short Blades

COMMUNICATE: 6 Deceit

DISCIPLINE: 6 Self-control

MOVE: 6 Stealth

UNDERSTAND: 5

SCENE :
WORMSIGN
Read aloud:
When you wake the following morning, you return to the Operations Center to organ- Return to Scene
ize the day’
day’ss spice mining. Zaan and Saarela watch you intently. 2 (p92) and run
another day of
spice production as before
Return to p92 and run another spice session. Note the nal result of the spice session (#2).
When you have completed running the harvesting operation for the day read aloud: to see can
acters if theimprove their-
player char
As you’re nishing up, Dr
Dr.. Ganio approaches you, frowning. “Perro was correct in production.
concluding that the lasgun retrieved from yesterday’s
yesterday’s attack is of Ixian manufacture.
Once it is concluded, con-
I am running additional tests. The results will be ready tomorrow.
tomorrow. Our priority now is
tinue the read aloud box.
improving spice production.”
She rubs her eyes, her fatigue obvious. “There are several possibilities, but I feel it
is important for you to observe spice harvesting rsthand and see for your own eyes
how it works. I am too busy to go myself. I have asked Saarela to organize an orni-
thopter.. We need to know how to reduce the loss of men and equipment to sand -
thopter
worms and Fremen.”
She passes you dark shapes sheathed in plastic lm. “Perro left these for you,” she Give each player
explains. “Stillsuits.” a Stillsuit asset
card if they do
Minutes later, you are suited and standing on the Residence’s landing platform.
Beside you, the ornithopter is a dragony-shaped ier made of burnished metal not already have one.
and glittering metaglass. Inside, is a spacious cabin where you can take your seats.
Saarela, and the pilot are already aboard, she is a tough-looking woman, who intro-
duces herself as Thana Banat, one of House Harkonnen’s experienced sand-masters.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 97

With a clash of wings, the ’thopter lurches upward, swinging over the Shield Wall and out across the
desert. Beyond Rimwall West, the horizon is the soft edge of an innity of sand. A column of dust
smudges the sky. “Spice harvester,” says Banat. “We’re about half an hour away. Is there anything you
want to know about spice harvesting?”

Note that some of these answers are not necessarily true but reect what Banat believes.
@ What can you tell us about the spice?
“Fortunes are made and lives lost because of it.”

@ Where does the spice come from?

it’s all over Arrakis, buried under the sand, working its way up to the sur-
“No one knows. Perhaps it’s
face.”

@ And the sandworms?

“Little is known about them, but they are colossal and to be avoided. It takes an… astonishing…
amount of force to kill one.”

@ Is there a connection between the worms and the spice?

“Maybe. They seem to protect the spice sands. That’s
That’s what makes them dangerous. No one knows if
there’s a direct relationship.”

@ How do the worms know when spice harvesting is underway?

“They are attracted to vibration and, since harvesting is a tough business, it attracts worms.”
@ Is there any warning before a worm attacks?
“Most of the time crews have about 30 minutes or so after the carryall drops its harvester before
spotters see wormsign. Less if a worm is nearby, more if one must come from far away.”

@ Wormsign?
“A ripple in the sand when a worm rises to the shallower sands beneath, and hard to see. When a
worm starts to rise, it’ll push a wave of sand ahead of it. That’s
That’s if it doesn’t come up right under the
harvester.”

@ What do you know about the

t he Fremen?
“Fremen are the second biggest threat to spice mining. They are primitive desert vagrants, without
much culture. Thankfully they are very few in number, I suspect the desert takes most of them.”
If the players have the Fremen Enemy asset: “Some crews tell me rumors are circulating in the
Fremen sietches that House Nagara plans to exterminate the worms and mine out the planet’s rocky
areas. This might be why they’re so aggressive now.”
now.”

@ Is there a link between

b etween the Fremen and the worms?
“Not that I know.”

@ Do you know how House Nagara could improve spice harvesting?

@ “Anything that warns us earlier of a worm would save lives and equipment.”
@ “Engine upgrades to increase carryall speed and cut down harvester noise would mean faster

delivery and rescue — and greater mining time.”

@ “Anything that somehow draws the worms away from harvesting would give crews more time.”
After the characters have nished questioning Banat, read the following aloud:
When you return your attention to the desert, the dust cloud has grown from a smudge to a huge cloud.
At its base is the harvester
harvester-factory
-factory.. 120 meters long and 40 meters wide. It resembles a giant angular
insect, mounted on tracks. Its cavernous scoops funnel sand into its reneries, blowing out waste in a roil-
ing swirl behind and to its sides. The pilot brings your ornithopter round in a wide circle, touching down
on a pad at the rear of the harvester
harvester..
When the ornithopter lands, you feel the harvester thrum with power.
power. It vibrates in your skull and sets
your teeth on edge. The rhythmic noise is deafening and Banat points to ear defenders hanging above
you next to the ’thopter’s door.
But just as you disembark, a klaxon blares. Banat pulls you back into the ’thopter.
’thopter.
“Wormsign!” she yells. Saarela beside you is pale, sweating and silent.
You
You climb aboard
aboard the ’thopter as you see a massive ’carryall’ ying towards the harvester
harvester,, ready to lift
lift it to
safety. But suddenly a great gash of ame opens in its side as a surface-to-air missile strikes its immense
safety.
drive section. You
You see a thin trail of smoke leading from a nearby, scalloped ridge of dunes. The carryall
spirals down to the sand with a sickening thud followed by an explosion.

All the player characters should make a Discipline test, Difculty 2 to keep their cool and notice what the
worm is doing.
@ If they succeed read aloud:

“You
“You notice the worm has turned towards the carryall crash site, but there is nothing you can do for
the crew from this distance, even if there were survivors. You
You have time to escape, but the harvester
will undoubtedly be the worm’s next target and there is nothing you can do to stop that. But maybe
there is something you can do for the crew.”

@ If they fail they notice nothing, read aloud:

With the threat of the oncoming worm, the crew of the harvester panic. A ght breaks out over who
among them can take a second ornithopter on the other harvester landing pad, as it will not take
them all. Sareela admonishes you to get in the ornithopter and leave right now. He tells you that your
lives are more important than anyone else’s and a worm may be almost upon them. He says another
carryall will be along soon but that somehow seems very unlikely.

Ask the players what they want to do next.

@
If theyAbout
there. y away
vethey can leave
will escape in safely. But there
the second are 20 crewmen on the harvester who will be marooned
ornithopter
@ If they choose to try and rescue some of the crew they can make a Difculty 2 Discipline test (with one
character leading and the others assisting). If they know the worm has been distracted by the carryall this
becomes a Difculty 1 test.
@ If they pass the test, they may spend Momentum to save the crew by organizing the evacuation
between the two ornitopters (one of the players might even pilot the other one). Each Momentum
spent saves four crewmen.
@ If they fail they cannot coordinate a rescue and only a few make it to the other ornithopter and escape.
Read aloud:
Eventually you have no time left, if anyone else is on the harvester there is nothing else you can do for
them. Losing your lives as well will serve no purpose. As your ornithopter takes ight you see the vast
maw of a sandworm rise beneath the harvester
harvester.. Its vast jaws close around the harvester
harvester,, which explodes
as hundreds of sandworm teeth drive into its hull. The titanic creature barely registers the harvester’s
harvester’s
explosion and sinks back into the sands leaving nothing in its wake.
100

Ask the players how their characters feel after seeing the worm and the destruction of their
harvester. How might they prevent attacks like this happening again?
@ If they saved at least half of the crew word will get around about their heroism. In
the next spice session all Move and Discipline tests have their Difculty reduced by 1.
@ If they failed (or missed this scene investigating the Street of Hawks or Plaza of
Sihaya) a few spice workers walk out, convinced House Nagara doesn’t know what
it is doing. The players lose one Harvester token before the next spice session.

SCENE :
NEW TECHNIQUES
Read aloud:
Y
You
ou return to the Residence’
Residence’ s Operations Center
Center,, humbled by what
what you have seen.
Saarela, who has recovered sufciently to start issuing orders, turns to you. “I promise
we will nd the Fremen responsible for that attack. Their sietches will be reduced to
rubble. On this, I swear.”

The characters can decide whether or not to sanction further action against the Fremen. If If they do, give
they do, they make enemies of the Fremen. the players the
Fremen Attitude:
Continue to read aloud:
Enemy card.

Soon after
after,, Dr. Ganio summons you and debriefs you about what you have learned
lear ned in
the eld. She has researched three different ways the new House Nagara technology
might be adapted to help the spice harvesting operation. She needs you to decide
which line of research to put into practice.
@ The rst option may help protect the operation from sandworms.
@ The second option may help to improve the volume of spice harvested.
@ The third option may help to improve the purity of the spice being harvested.

You
You need to decide which option she should pursue.

The players will probably want more detail on what Dr. Ganio has in mind. Depending on the
unique technology the players picked for House Nagara, these are:
@ To help protect the operation from sandworms:
@
A modied,
charges ornithopter-mounted
at the Nagara
sand to distract a worm awaymaula
from rie might be used to re small
harvesters.
@ Seeding the desert with alithiascopes, keyed to sandworm pheromones, may
detect their proximity along chemical concentration gradients.
@ Blight scanners modied to detect decay rates in sandworm pheromone deposits
may plot their migrations over time and help avoid areas of frequent worm activity.
@ Ornithopter-mounted nightshade lenses may increase wormsign detection ranges.
@ Using omnigenerators as high-energy enhancements to carryalls, decreasing ight
time.
@ To help improve the volume of spice harvested:
@ Issuing crews and harvesters with Nagara maula ries may help repel Fremen.

@ Equipping harvesters with alithiascopes to enable more efcient detection and

extraction of spice, improving spice yield.

@ Distributing blight scanners throughout harvester factories to detect organic

@ impurities, all
Equipping thereby enhancing
weapons the quality
on harvesters of the spicelenses
with nightshade yield. to improve accuracy
accu racy..
@ Powering harvesters with more efcient omnigenerators to cut costs.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 101

To help improve the purity of the spice:

@ Nagara maula ries on low power might be used to break up sand clogs in the

machinery and help the lters sieve the sand a little better.
@ Equipping harvester screening processes with alithiascopes to separate spice
from its substrate more efciently.
@ Using blight scanners to examine sand ltered during harvesting for potentially
valuable organics.
@ Equipping the crews with Nightshade oil lenses may help them see more of the
spice on the sand to target better elds.
@ Connecting Omnigenerators to the ltering systems will let them run at faster
speeds for longer and increase the yield purity.
purity.
After the players have made a decision, read the following aloud:
Note which Ganio nods to herself. “I can ready a prototype by morning. Come to the laboratory
option the play- after organizing your harvesting operations.”
ers picked:
Saarela enters without knocking, informing you that a Harkonnen patrol has found
Protect the operation evidence in the carryall’s wreckage pointing to a Fremen attack. “They’re using Ixian
from sandworms. weapons,” he adds. “House Vernius
Vernius must be bringing these weapons in under the
Guild’ss nose and using local smugglers to distribute to their Fremen allies. We should
Guild’
Improve the volume of
retaliate against the Fremen, else they and House Vernius will think us weak and
spice harvested.
become even bolder.”
Improve the purity
of the spice being
harvested. The player characters can make a Communicate test at Difculty 4. If they fail, they
notice nothing. If they succeed, they notice Sareela does not seem as sure as he was
about who is responsible for the attack. He also fails to produce this evidence, claiming
his agents have disposed of it so word doesn’t get out that Nagara can’t protect its
carryalls. He claims to trust his agent’s judgment.
Ask the characters if they want to make reprisals against the Fremen. If they do they gain
the trait Fremen Enemy if they haven’t already.
already.

SCENE :
THE LONG NIGHT
If the characters decide to follow Harun’s information
information read the following aloud:
As night falls, the future of House Nagara has never been more uncertain.

Arrakeen at night
metric patches of is a cold,
silver monochrome
light. Beneath theworld
rising of hard-edged
moon, shadows
the streets -
and geoThe
are deserted.
bitter scent of cinnamon still clings to the air.

If the player characters want to visit the Plaza of Sihaya, move to option A. If they want to visit
the Street of Hawks, move to option B.

OPTION A THE PLAZA OF SIHAYA

If the players Read aloud:
want to visit the
In the derelict plaza the blue-walled merchant’s house stands alone, half-wreathed in
Street of Hawks
darkness.
instead, skip to the next
section.
The characters may:
@ Send any troops
them at and kills they have into
the soldiers thesent
they house.
in. If they do, there is an explosion that knocks
102

@ Enter the building themselves. If they do:

@ A Battle test, Difculty 3, reveals a tripwire across the doorway
doorway..
@ This can be deactivated with a Move test, Difculty 2. If this test fails,

the explosion goes off. The characters are injured and must return to the
Residence for treatment.
@ Any character making a successful Understand test, Difculty 1, recognizes
the explosives set in the doorway as Ixian in manufacture.
@ If the characters explore the house, they must make three Battle tests, Difculty 2, to
locate more booby traps.
@ Each can be removed with a Move test, Difculty 1.

@ If players fail any of their Battle tests, the explosives detonate. Characters are
injured and must return to the Residence for treatment.
@ As above, the explosives are revealed with a successful Understand roll, Difculty
1, as Ixian in manufacture.
On their return, Nikula and Saarela demand punitive action against the Fremen again if it
is not already going on. If the player characters agree give them the Fremen Attitude:
Enemy Trait card if you haven’t already.
If they do not agree, and they are working with Harkonnen assistance in spice mining
sessions the Harkonnen threaten to cease aiding House Nagara. This is a bluff, but the
characters must make a Communicate test, Difculty 2, to persuade the Harkonnen to
maintain their support.
@ If the test is a success, the Harkonnens continue supporting House Nagara.

@ If the test is a failure, the Harkonnens continue their support but all further tests with
the Harkonnen have the Difculty increased by 1.

OPTION B THE STREET OF HAWKS

Read aloud:
The Street of Hawks is narrow and shadowy. Fixed glowglobes illuminate several
doorways, including one with a door the color of old blood.

If the characters have troops with them, a voice rings out. An echo makes its source
impossible to determine.

“The wise know when to walk alone. Are you wise?”

The characters may:

@ Move forward with their forces. If they do, they nd the house with the red door
empty. An Understand test, Difculty 1, reveals it was vacated mere moments before.
@ Order their troops to remain on guard and move to the red doored house alone. If
they do, dark shapes rise from the rooftops: Fremen in jubba cloaks. The Fremen take
no action but watch silently. Read the following:
“Come in, Nagara,” says a voice from behind the door. “We have much to discuss.”
When you enter the house, you are met by a group of six Fremen. If Harun was
freed, he is one of them.

In the player characters enter the house, read aloud:

The Fremen leader steps forward. “I am Musa,” he says proudly, “Naib of Sietch Reveal Musa,
Jurf’ahmar
Jurf’ahmar.. My people have suffered long under the Harkonnen. We will neither Naib of Sietch
 suffer you, nor suffer under you, Nagara. Here we can start a war, or stop one.” Jurf’ahmar’s char-
acter card to the players.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 103

If the player characters have the Fremen Enemy Trait they will have to convince the Fremen they are worth
negotiating with. This requires a Communicate test at Difculty 4. If the test is failed the Fremen leave and vanish
into the night. Any guards sent after them do not come back. If the test is passed the Fremen are convinced to
stay and talk.
The gamemaster is encouraged to roleplay the encounter between characters and the tough,
uncompromising Musa. Skills tests can be used, however
however,, to raise tension or uncertainty
uncertainty.. The player
characters might ask the following questions:
@ Do you know anything about the Ixian weapons?

“Shortly after House Harkonnen lost the Imperial ef, smugglers began supplying Fremen sietches
with these weapons.”

@ Do you believe the rumor that House Nagara intends to exterminate the sandworms and mine the
rocky areas of Arrakis?
“That was what the smugglers told the Fremen.”

@ There is no truth in the rumor. Why do you think the smugglers told you this?

“To foment trouble between the Fremen and Nagara. I believe my people are being used as pawns
“To
in a game played between Imperial Houses, between Nagara and Harkonnen. You
You have what they
have lost. That sits ill with them.”

MUSA, NAIB OF SIETC H JURF ’AHMAR

Musa is a pragmatic and experienced leader who DRIVE S T AT E M E N T
has seen his tribe through many hardships. While
he is a little old by Fremen standards, he does not DUTY 8 I lead until dead.
fear a younger blade will challenge him just yet.
He is willing to give those he does not know the FAITH: 7 Arrakis is the Forge of God.
benet of the doubt. But he will also judge them
by their actions not their words. J U S TI C E: 6 The desert teaches us to be just.
Traits: Naib of Sietch Jurf’ahmar; Fedaykin Warrior;
POWER: 5
Intense, Intelligent, and Proud
TALENTS: TR U T H : 5
@ Advisor (Communicate): Whenever Musa
assists an ally and uses Communicate, he can
re-roll 1d20 from their dice pool. SKILL FOCUSES
@ Bold (Battle): When buying additional d20s 7
BATTLE: Short Blades, Pistols
with Threat, Musa can re-roll any single d20
from that pool. 6
COMMUNICATE: Charm
@ Cool Under Pressure (Discipline): Before rolling
a Discipline test, Musa may spend 2 Threat to DISCIPLINE: 6 Self-control
automatically succeed at the test. He generates
no Momentum/Threat for this test, however. MOVE: 6 Stealth
Assets: Maula Pistol, Crysknife, Stillsuit, Jubba 5
UNDERSTAND:
Cloak
@ Will you continue to oppose us?
“That is what we are here to decide. Make no mistake, we are not unwilling to take
your water… to spill your blood, if you do not understand our meaning. These weap-
ons from the tribe of Ix make this easier, but war wastes water. A lasting peace between
Sietch Jurf’ahmar and Nagara benets us all. But there is always a cost to peace.”

Now negotiations begin between Musa and the player characters.

To resolve the negotiation through dice rolls:

The players will need to win three contested Communicate tests against Musa as a group.
Each player may only make one test, or assist once. So, at least three different characters will
need to make a test. The others can try to assist or make tests themselves depending on what
the group think.
If they lose three tests, or win three tests the negotiations end with the following results:
@ The players won no tests – The Fremen vanish into the night unconvinced House
Nagara can be an ally
ally..
@ The players won one test – The Fremen decide to give House Nagara the benet of the Remember to
doubt. The next spice operation test can be made without rolling for a Fremen attack. apply these
results in further
@ The players won two tests – The Fremen vanish into the night unconvinced House
spice sessions.
Nagara can be an ally. From now on, only a maximum of two Fremen attacks can occur
during a spice session and the dice result to see if they occur is reduced by –2. If the players won three
tests and do not have
@ The players won three tests – The Fremen are convinced House Nagara have been
the ’Fremen Attitude:
wronged and are actually honorable. Remove the Fremen Enemy trait card if they have
Enemy’ card, they gain
it. From now on, only a maximum of one Fremen attack can occur during a spice ses -
the ’Fremen Attitude: Ally’
sion and the dice result to see if they occur is reduced by –2. If you did not need to
card.
remove the Fremen Enemy Trait the Fremen will actually help support and defend House
Nagara’s spice operation so no further tests for Fremen attacks needs to be made.
Once negotiations are complete and if the player characters won at least one test, read
aloud:
“All is built on sand,” Musa says. “But we must build as if sand were stone. So I will
show my respect by speaking truth. The missile attack on your carryall was not the
Fremen’ss doing. Smugglers traded with us offering lasguns, maula pistols, and explo-
Fremen’
only. We did not trade for rocket launchers. The smugglers who sold us weap-
sives only.

ons were new to Arrakis and arrived after House Harkonnen lost its ef.”
“You should know, Fremen are not responsible for all the attacks on sand mining
operations; there is another, hostile force on Arrakis.”
He gives you a compact, long-range communicator.
“The wavelength is coded into the device. Someone will always be listening, should
you wish to contact us. Wait here for 30 minutes after we leave. My brothers will be
watching. We will know.”
Then, with the soft susurration of their jubba cloaks, he and his men depart.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 105

A C T I I I , P A RT 
AWAKENING
House Nagara continues their spice harvesting operations Objectives:
of Arrakis in partnership with the Harkonnens. But it is @ Introduce conclusive evidence that House Harkonnen is

becoming clearer and clearer that the Harkonnen are not the characters’ true enemy.
to be trusted. House Nagara’
Nagara’ss prototype to assist spice @ Provide characters with an opportunity to take revenge

operations also goes missing, casting a shadow on their on House Harkonnen.

plans to exceed their spice quotas. Eventually the true @ Begin to prepare the characters for challenging House
enemies behind the supposed Vernius attacks and the Harkonnen in the Landsraad.
assassination of the Countess are revealed and the player
characters can nally take their revenge.

SCENE :
STOLEN TECHNOLOGY
Begin this scene with another spice production session (#3) as detailed on p92, but
possibly modied as follows:
@ Remember to apply any adjustments gained from negotiations with the Fremen (Scene
6) or rescue of the harvester crew (Scene 4).
@ It also turns out that Dr. Ganio has completed a prototype and outtted some of the
harvesters. What the players picked will grant them a bonus in this spice session and
any further ones:
@ Protect the operation from sandworms: When rolling for worm attack, reduce the
dice result by 2.
@ Improve the volume of spice harvested: The players may reveal one spice blow
token before making a spice analysis test.
@ Improve the purity of the spice being harvested: The players may roll an additional
d20 for free on one of their Discipline tests when rolling for spice production.
Once the spice session is complete, read aloud:
Dr.. Ganio requests you visit her in her laboratory and informs you the prototype test-
Dr
ing is nished. She wrings her hands.
GAMEMASTER NOTE “I informed Kobus Zaan, who instructed me to send a technical team to upgrade
What Dr. Ganio more of our harvesting operations. After their ornithopter
or nithopter crossed the Shield Wall, we
doesn’t know is lost all contact. The ightplan was secret and comms channel secured. We can only
that Zaan con- assume a technical fault, or an attack.”
tacted Harkonnen opera-
tives with the ight details
Ask players how they wish their characters to respond:
and sent orders to seize
the prototype to further @ Option 1: Do nothing.
undermine the Nagara
The ornithopter vanishes, as does the prototype. House Harkonnen has actually seized
harvesting operations.
it but they will not know this. With an Understand test, Difculty 1, the characters real-
ize they need another prototype (or the players may simply guess this). Skip ahead to
Scene 3.
3.
106

@ Option 2: Follow the ornithopter’s course with a few House Nagara troops.
Ask the players if they will take Harkonnen troops for back up as well as their own.
@ If they decide not to, ask if they will try to sneak out without alerting the Harkonnen.
If they try to leave without telling their Harkonnen allies…
@ The Harkonnens will know they are leaving if the player characters take any
Harkonnen troops.
@ The Harkonnens will notice the player characters leaving if they cannot do
so quietly and secretly, by passing either a Move or Discipline test (player’s
choice) at Difculty 2.
If the Harkonnens discover the player characters are leaving , Varis and Nikula will insist
on accompanying them. To stop one or both coming with them the player characters must
make a Difculty 3 Communicate test. If successful they can spend 1 Momentum each to
refuse to take Varis and/or Nikula.
Perceptive characters (Communicate test, Difculty 2) note that any accompanying Harkon-
nens delay departure.

SCENE :
“ I TA K E WHAT I S M I N E ”
If the characters investigate the lost ornithopter, read aloud:
You
You leave Arrakeen at at speed aboard
aboard an armored ’thopter
’thopter.. Beyond the Shield Wall,
Wall, Take out the spice
you see the technical team’
team’ss aircraft crashed in the sand, but intact. Three small harvesting map
unmarked ’thopters have landed close by clearly responsible for bringing down your of Arrakis and
technician’ss ornithopter. Like sandies, men group around the vehicles.
technician’ place it on the table. Place
the four Spice Smugglers
You are going to have to ght for your prototype,
You prototype, and you won’t
won’t have long. Even this
cards in any of the zones.
close to the shield wall, the conict is bound to draw a worm.
The players may pick one
Your pilo
Your pilott drops
drops his craf
craftt in cove
coverr behind
behind the techn
technicia
icians’
ns’ tran
transpo
sport.
rt. As he
he kills
kills the engi
engine
ne zone to land in, they place
you hear the cough of maula pistols as you exit your ’thopter and enter the ght. their character cards, the
Nagara Soldiers card and
(if they brought them) the
In this conict the Nagara soldiers, Harkonnen Soldiers, and Spice Smuggler cards each
Harkonnen Soldier card in
represent a group of ghters.
that zone.
The conict should be played out as usual, with the player characters controlling their
characters
Harkonnenand the ifNagara
guards soldiers.
they were The gamemaster controls all other characters, including
brought.
@ The player characters will win the conict if they defeat all the spice smugglers.
@ The player characters will lose the conict if all of them are defeated (Nagara soldiers
and Harkonnen guards are irrelevant in terms of victory).
Note, any ally of the player characters in the same zone as the Harkonnen troops must
increase the Difculty of their rolls by +1. Simply explain it is ’an extra circumstantial
modier’ rather than tell the players what it represents. While the Harkonnens will take
actions on their turn, they will fail any test. Roll the dice secretly and just tell the players
the test was a failure!

At the end of the conict, the player characters may make an Understand test at Difculty
2. If they succeed, they recognize the ’smugglers’’
’smugglers’’ battle language as Harkonnen, and (if
they have not worked it out) that the Harkonnen troops were actively working against the
player characters.
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 107

SMUGGLERS (DISGUISED HARKONNEN TROOPS)

Traits: Soldier DRIVE S T AT E M E N T

Talents: None DUTY: 4

Assets: Military Training, Ixian Lasgun, Kindjal
FAITH: 4

J U S T I CE : 4

POWER: 4

T RU T H : 4

SKILL FOCUSES

BATTLE: 6 Brawler

COMMUNICATE: 5

DISCIPLINE: 5

MOVE: 5

UNDERSTAND: 4

If the player characters win the conict, read the following aloud:
Outgunned and outmaneuvered, the smugglers ee, abandoning their damaged
’thopter,, leaving their dead behind. Searching the bodies reveals their maula pistols
’thopter
are an Ixian design.
When you investigate the ’thopter, Captain Nikula waylays you.
“Do not approach,” he warns. “Smugglers regularly boobytrap their transports.”
A contested Communicate, Difculty 2 skill test suggests Nikula is hiding something
but he will not stop them investigating.
If the player characters investigate the smugglers’ ornithopter and succeed in a Dif-
culty 2 Understand test they do not nd any booby traps, but do nd their technical
team’ss ight-plan and itinerary
team’ itinerary,, possibly evidence of a traitor in the Residence.

If Major Roj
If the player characters lose the conict, read aloud:
Varis is with the
player characters, “The smugglers drive you back to your ornithopter.
ornithopter. Varis lies dead and you ee,
remove his card from the knowing valuable Nagara technology is now on the open market. As you contem -
game as he will be killed plate your defeat, Nikula opens his st. In his palm is a micro-communicator.
micro-communicator.
in the ghting if the player
The prototype is now lost and the player characters will not be able to use it in their
characters lose.
next spice session and gain the bonus.

@ After the conict is resolved read aloud:

Any further investigation is impossible as in moments there are shouts of ’wormsign’.
 You scr
You scramb
amble
le bac
backk to
to you
yourr ’tho
’thopte
pterr and
and tak
take
e off
off onl
onlyy mome
moments
nts bef
befor
ore
e a wo
worm
rm rise
risess fro
from
m
beneath the sand and swallows any evidence you were there in little more than a moment.

108

Y
You
ou notice Captain Nikula
Nikula is looking closely
closely at one of the weapons he has taken from a smuggler.
smuggler. “Ixian,”
he observes. “Those smugglers are being equipped by House Vernius.”
At the Residence, Saarela greets you. “Your principal radio operator was a traitor
traitor,”
,” he snaps. “He killed
himself with a poison tooth after Zaan confronted him. The Residence is secure once more. I suggest you
allow me to handle security from now on.”

This is a lie. In truth, Zaan had the man killed as a scapegoat. The player characters can make a Difculty 4
Communicate test to determine that Zaan is not telling them the truth. Although even if he is accused he will insist it
is the truth and it is up to House Nagara to determine what it chooses to believe.

SCENE :
“ENEMIES STRENGTHEN YOU.ALLIES WEAKEN.”
Read aloud:
Dr.. Ganio intercepts you as you move through the Residence, and requests your attention. She leads you to
Dr
the laboratory.
laboratory. Gaunt with worry
worry,, she activates a cone of silence.
“I have made a terrible discovery while investigating the Ixian lasgun you retrieved from the Fremen attack.
Inside the priming chambers I found signicant amounts of genetic traces of Giedi Prime biologic mark-
ers, particularly environmental contaminants. This is not incidental. These weapons are Ixian in origin, but
they were primed and handled by someone on Giedi Prime, almost without doubt someone from House
Harkonnen, given their control of off-planet transport. It is they who been equipping the Fremen and
deecting suspicion onto House Vernius!”

The characters may question Ganio, if they wish:

@ What about the weapons and the communicator found amongst the smugglers?

“It seems the Harkonnens are supplying arms and materiel to them.”

@ Why would the Harkonnens supply smugglers and the Fremen?

“T
“Too discredit our House by compromising spice production. This would turn tur n CHOAM, the Guild, and
the Emperor against us, as we would have demonstrated House Nagara is incapable of meeting its
It’s likely that Arrakis was more lucra-
responsibilities.. Perhaps the Harkonnens plan to win back Arrakis. It’s
responsibilities
tive than they admit.”

@ We heard smugglers using Harkonnen battle language.

“That proves my suspicions. Harkonnen soldiers are masquerading as smugglers.”

Reecting on the missile strike on the carryall, you realize that some of the Fremen attacks must have
been mercenaries in disguise. It appears the Harkonnens may have been staging attacks on harvesting
operations to make House Nagara look weak and point the blame at the Fremen.

The characters may also ask Ganio the following:

@ What should we do?
“Be cautious. I have requested Perro’s presence. As Judge of the Change and an agent of the Emperor,
he must be informed.”

@ Can Perro be trusted?

“Perro is a Guild agent, dedicated to ensuring a continual ow of spice to the Guild and to the rest of

the Imperium.
if nothing Two Houses competing on Arrakis jeopardizes this security. We can trust his self-interest,
else.”
 AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 109

Read aloud:
“It makes perfect sense,” Ganio says to herself.
“The Countess would have been a formidable opponent on Arrakis, with considerable strength and
inuence within the Landsraad. You…
You… you’re all so inexperienced, no insult intended. She was in their
way.. Don’t you see? If the Harkonnen sabotage our mining operations here, run guns to the Fremen, hire
way
mercenaries… how difcult would it have been to destroy the Countess’ shuttle?”
“I fear also that our entire House is at risk. A edgling House with an heir incapable of serving as admin-
istrator of Arrakis is useless to the Imperium. Demonstrating this, the Harkonnen may act as if they are
duty-bound to have Nagara absorbed entirely into their own House and holdings.”
You are beginning
You beginning to comprehend the implications of
of Ganio’s insight when Perro
Perro is admitted
admitted by one of
your household guard.

Ask the players if they think they can trust Perro:

@ If they do, read the next section aloud.

@ If not, they exchange pleasantries with Perro and he eventually leaves. The player characters may make a
Communicate test at Difculty 2 if they wish to use this small talk to gauge Perro’s
Perro’s trustworthiness. If they
succeed they conclude he can be trusted, or at least is not working for the Harkonnens and has remained
neutral. This may convince them to take Perro into their condence, if not skip the next section.
If the players decide to trust Perro, read aloud:

Perro steps into the cone of silence and Ganio explains what you have uncovered — and what she has
concluded.
Perro’s face grows dark. “We cannot risk a War of Assassins between you and the Harkonnens. There is
too much at stake. We cannot risk the spice.”

The characters may have questions for Perro:

@ Can he, or the Spacing Guild, help against the Harkonnens?

“Not directly.
directly. As Judge of the Change, I must be seen to be impartial. The Guild could threaten
to remove Harkonnen transport rights, but that would expose tensions between Harkonnen and
Nagara. The Landsraad would insist that your Houses acknowledge a state of kanly — formalized
vendetta — and this would throw the Arrakis ef into chaos, jeopardizing spice production. Your
Your
House would not fare well against the entrenched, resourceful, and ruthless Harkonnens.”

@ Would CHOAM assist House Nagara?

“Unlikely. Any petition to CHOAM would be a sign of weakness. Our House would lose cred -
Ganio – “Unlikely.
ibility and, likely, our ef.”
Perro – “Absolutely not. CHOAM exists to distribute wealth and to serve those who provide it. Any
threat to that, and to the balance between the directorships, would make the petitioning House a
pariah.”

@ Would the Emperor aid House Nagara against the Harkonnens?

“Unfortunately, there is no chance of that. The Emperor took the ef from House Harkon-
Ganio – “Unfortunately,
nen and gave it to Nagara. He would look a fool before the Landsraad. Any house that makes the
Emperor look foolish would not survive long.”
Perro – “The Emperor gave you the ef. Why, I do not know, but I sense plans within plans we cannot
yet perceive. Is it possible he is allied with the Harkonnens? Impossible
Impossible to say. Best to keep silent
before the Emperor,
Emperor, else he silences you himself.”
110

@ Should we move against the Harkonnens?

Ganio – “Perhaps, but not openly. That would risk a War of Assassins and Harkonnen forces outnum -
ber ours on Arrakis by a considerable measure. Their headquarters in Carthag is still fully garrisoned,
Sadly, we are relying on House Harkon-
and we have few of our House armaments in place here yet. Sadly,
nen to transport those to us with the Guild’s cooperation.”
cooperation.”
Perro – “No, but you cannot afford to do nothing. Every day, the Harkonnens undermine your tenu-
ous grip on Arrakis. If that continues, the Emperor will rescind your ef. If you indicate you are going
to strike against the Harkonnens, the Guild will cut off your ability to transport additional troops and
weapons from your home-world to use against them.”

@ What can be done?

Ganio – “Seek justice for our Countess. What form that will take, I cannot say. But there must be at
least one Harkonnen who is the architect of this plan. We might not be able to take down the whole
House, but we can perhaps nd the one who planned the murder of the Countess.”
Perro – “Take
“Take revenge if you can, but it must be surgical, deniable. Select a target that damages
Harkonnen operations, distance yourself from it, and maintain your innocence.”

@ Revenge on whom?

Ganio – “Who is the thread that ties Arrakis to Giedi Prime, the Countess’ death to attacks on our harvesters?”

If the players have taken Perro into their condence or not, read aloud:
If the Harkonnens are behind the attacks, the question is, which of them is to blame for the Countess’
death and is the main architect of the plan?
The other problem is how to get revenge. A war between Houses goes against the Great Convention, a
code of conduct that has kept the peace for thousands of years. Without clear evidence the plot goes to
the very top of House Harkonnen, it will be exceptionally hard to get the Landsraad to back any attack.
Even if they did, House Harkonnen is powerful and would easily crush House Nagara is in an all-out war.
But there may be another way.
way. If you can root out the true puppetmaster you will need less evidence to
take revenge on them. Doing so will also send a message to the Harkonnens you are not to be tried
with. If played carefully and well, the puppetmaster’s crimes will give you ample excuse to insist House
Harkonnen must leave Arrakis to you. As always, what matters is the spice. The better your production of
it the more leverage you will have with the Landsraad.
The question remains, who is behind the Harkonnen plot?

If the players do not have their own idea about the answer to this last question, ask for an Understand test,
Difculty 1. If they succeed you can offer them the following clues. If they fail they will still realize the main suspects
are Nikula, Zaan, and Saarela:
@ Nikula – An unlikely suspect as he is mainly a thug and probably not capable of such a plot, unless his brutality is an act.
@ Sareela – A very good subject, but he has been stationed on Arrakis and the plot may well have begun as
early as when you were on Giedi Prime.
@ Zaan – A likely suspect with the time and resources to craft such a plot. He has been helpful to House
Nagara, but has that just been to get into your good graces?
If the players believe they know who is behind the plot, move on to Scene 4.
If the players decide they want more evidence before they make their decision, read aloud:

While you are eager to deal with the serpent in your midst, you know that evidence and cunning are the
way to make sure House Nagara can survive a conict with House Harkonnen. You will need to get evidence
before you make an accusation, and you have three suspects to pick from, Nikula, Zaan, and Sareela. You
 will have to break into their private records to nd what you need and it will not be easy. Should you fail
when investigating one, the others will be on their guard. So, who will you try to investigate rst?

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 111

The players should now pick which of the three suspects they wish to investigate
rst. Doing so requires a Difculty 4 Understand or Discipline test, and up to two player
characters can assist in the test.
@ If they pass the test the player characters gain information on the suspect as noted below.

@ If they fail the test but get at least two successes they gain no information and must
try another suspect.
@ If they fail the test with only zero or one success or roll they have not only failed
to gain any information on that suspect but have alerted the others someone is on to
them. All tests against any other suspects have the Difculty increased to 5.
@ If they roll a Complication on any test the gamemaster gains 2 Threat
On a successful test they learn the following about the suspect they investigate:
@ Nikula has nothing of interest beyond some security reports. He is clearly not the

puppetmaster.
@ Sareela has plenty of secret documents but none detail any plans against House
Nagara. The player characters can spend 1 Momentum to gain an asset of Harkon -
nen secrets which may be useful later or against Sareela.
@ Zaan is clearly the puppetmaster! The player characters nd several incidental com-
munications that connect him to circumstantially to several of the plots against them.
They may also spend Momentum to ’Obtain Information’ gaining one of the following
for each Momentum they spend. Each of these offers enough evidence to claim rightful
If the play-
revenge against Zaan:
ers spend the
Momentum, @ Details of nancial incentives for spice workers to leave Arrakis. These bribes
give them the Harkonnen would force House Nagara to seek more assistance from the Harkonnens when
Secrets asset card. they couldn’t get new workers.
@ Spacing Guild bills of lading for shipments of machine parts from Giedi Prime.
Against each are lists of Ixian-patent lasguns and microcommunicators. They prove
the Harkonnens are responsible for arming the people attacking the harvesters and
even Perro.
@ Plans for a disinformation campaign highlighting House Nagara’s intention
to eradicate the sandworms and mine Arrakis’ rocky areas, approved by Baron
Harkonnen himself. In this way they have carried out a disinformation campaign
to destroy condence in House Nagara’s governorship of Arrakis.
@ Orders for raids on Fremen sietches. These raids will have been to claim

Fremen items to use to plant evidence of Fremen involvement. The Fremen will
be very interested in this evidence.
@ Lists of Harkonnen mercenaries active on Arrakis with designated targets.
Some are sietches; most are battle plans for assaulting spice harvesters. This
proves the attacks are not House Vernius or the Fremen but Harkonnen agents.
@ Blueprints of a House Nagara shuttle. Expanded plans of the ship’s bridge
and engine room append the blueprints. Final proof that Zaan is behind the
assassination of the Countess. The evidence also notes that the player characters’
training on Giedi Prime should not be taught the correct protocols, but instill
in them the wrong instincts so their attempts to help will only cause further
malfunctions and obfuscate the Harkonnen plot.
Read aloud:
Now there can be no denying what is obvious. House Harkonnen is working against
against
you to make Arrakis theirs once again.
You
You might not be ready
ready to challenge the Harkonnens openly
openly,, but you can make
make sure
 your Countess is avenged and Harkonnen plans derailed. But how?

112

SCENE :
VENGEANCE!
Begin this scene with a nal spice session (#4) and record the results. Impress upon the players that the better
their spice production the more leverage thy have among the Houses of the Imperium.
If they saved the prototype they can get the same extra bonuses they had in the previous section, if it is lost they cannot.
Once the spice session is completed, read aloud

Now you have a suspect, it is time to act and claim vengeance for your House and the loss of the Coun-
tess. This will take careful planning and commitment to see it through.
There are three potential suspects, Nikula, Sareela, and Zaan. One of them must be struck down to claim
vengeance, but you must be sure. You
You will have only one attempt, and then all three will be on their guard
or may escape back to Giedi Prime. You
You have done all the research you can, so now is the time to strike.

The players should take some time to discuss their options and what they want to do to take revenge. Ask them
who they will visit their revenge on. If they have all the evidence they should focus on Zaan, but if not they may pick
a different target. Remind them that they should be sure as they may only get one chance.
This scene differs slightly in allowing the gamemaster to improvise the actions of the player characters, in a looser
structure of tests and possible outcomes. If the players come up with a good plan, go with it and decide on the skill tests
as a group. It is ne (essential even) for the players to suggest how they are using their abilities to plot their revenge.
If they are unsure what to do, offer them the following options:
@ Luring the target into the desert and attempt an arranged ambush.
@ Inltrate the target’s chambers and silence them so their death appears accidental or just leaves no clear suspects.
@ Poison them openly but deect suspicion onto another Harkonnen.
@ Face them in a duel of honor.
If the characters decide to lure their target into the desert:
They must succeed at a Communicate test, Difculty 1, to arrange to meet Musa and his Fremen in the
desert who will be more than happy to help kill a Harkonnen. If the player characters found the evidence
incriminating the Fremen the test passes automatically.
The target must them be lured into the desert under some pretext, either persuading them (Communicate, Dif-
culty 3) or commanding them as the ef-holders of Arrakis (Discipline, Difculty 2) to accompany them immediately
in an inspection, possibly after a sand-master has learned something of universal signicance about the spice.
The target will only agree if they are allowed to take one of the other two suspects with them and some
Harkonnen guards. It is possible this plan may end up killing all three of the suspects if the player characters
decide to lure all of them out into the desert, which will sort out the question of who the culprit is!
When they arrive in the desert you can play out the encounter in one of several ways:
@ A full conict using the spice harvesting map with the player characters and their Fremen allies against
their target, their allies, and some Harkonnen troops.
@ A smaller conict where the Fremen slaughter all the Harkonnen guards in a lightning ambush while
the remaining non-player characters must ght for their lives against just the player characters.
@ A roleplaying scene where the Fremen kill all the Harkonnens and ask the player characters to decide
what to do with the main non-player characters. Communicate tests and intimidation might provoke
them to tell the truth before they meet their end or as an appeal for mercy.
If the characters attempt an assassination to silence the target in a manner that appears accidental:
Ganio suggests using a remote controlled poison dartgun that induces a natural-seeming heart attack. Varis,
if he has survived, or one of his senior subordinates, suggests a more direct approach, with player characters
inltrating the target’s
target’s quarters and dispatching him personally.
 To get to the target they must determine the codes of the security system protecting the Harkonnen wing of
the Residence. This requires the player characters to pass an Understand test, Difculty 1, to ascertain their

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 113

USING PERRO target’s daily movements. This might take several days of observation during which they
Perro is potentially a very will be organizing spice harvesting activities. They might try any one of the following:
useful ally for the player
@ If they use a remote poison dart , they must pass two successful Move tests,
characters. As the Judge
Difculty 2, to inltrate the Harkonnen wing of the Residence and locate a posi-
of the Change his support
tion close enough to re the dart. If they fail the alarm will be raised and they must
can legitimize almost any
abort, but may have an option to try again.
of their actions against the
Harkonnens. But con- @ They must then make an extended Move test with a requirement of 10 at Difculty

versely,
same forhe can
the also do the
Harkonnens. 2, to pilot
cannot thethe
make device into their in
requirement target’s quarters
four tests and
or less administer
their theraise
target will poison. If they
the alarm
and the attempt fails.
Luckily, Perro is an honor-
able man and will respond @ If characters prefer to kill the target directly, they must succeed at a Move
well to evidence. But the test at Difculty 3 to inltrate the Harkonnen wing of the Residence. One of them
players don’t know that so must then succeed at a Difculty 3 Discipline test to gain access to their target’s
they might try to keep him quarters. Finally they must overpower their target in a conict. This can be done
out of the loop to be on without a map as every character can be considered in the same zone.
the safe side.
If the characters poison the target openly they might:
If the player characters do
@ Ganio’s help, a fake poison snooper (Understand, Difculty 2) to
Fabricate, with Dr. Ganio’s
take him into their con-
substitute for their target’s own device. This make take several days, during which
dence and have evidence,
characters can, and must, still administer to the House’s spice harvesting activities.
his support becomes a
trait/asset and can make @ Pass a Move test, Difculty 2, to exchange the deactivated poison snooper for
almost any Difculty the target’s own device.
levels for tests against the
@ Succeeding in a Move test, Difculty 2, lets them successfully administer the
Harkonnens 1 level lower
lower..
poison to the target’s food or drink without notice.
Consequently,, if they act
Consequently
rashly or prove untrust- They can then either claim rightful vengeance if they have evidence, or try and frame
worthy enough for him to another Harkonnen by making a Move test, Difculty 2, to plant the target’s poison
work against them, he can snooper on a Harkonnen.
make tests many Difculty
If the player characters offer their target a duel:
levels higher.
Any one of the targets will believe they can take down any of the player characters and
will relish the opportunity. Fight the duel using the same rules on p58. But remember
only one player character can take part and defeat for either side will mean death.
If the player characters fail to kill their target:
There are many ways they may get another chance if they do not roll too badly or think
of another way to take their vengeance. Encourage them to be creative or try one of
the other options.
If they still fail to manage it read the following:
“The forms of kanly are clear” shouts Baron Harkonnen as you face the assembled
council of the Landsraad. “House Nagara has made an unprovoked attack on the
agents of my House and I have the right to claim recompense.”
The Baron grins at you, clearly seeing an opportunity to claim Arrakis for himself once
again. But Perro, the Judge of the
t he Change steps forward.
“Lords and Ladies of the Landsraad. I agree House Nagara has acted rashly, but I can
conrm there was evidence enough for them to make an honest mistake.”
Baron Harkonnen turns red with rage, but he clearly cannot challenge Perro’s ruling with -
out showing his hand.
“I urge this learned assembly towards leniency,” Perro continues. “Another change of
governorship so soon might endanger spice production. Let us grant them more time
 to prove themselves in that role, and focus instead on recompense for House Harkon-
nen so the debts may be settled.

114

SPI CE RECKONING
At this point add up points gained from the four spice session results in the following way:
@ 2 points for each Exceeding Targets

@ 1 point for each Meeting Targets

@ –1 point for each Going Badly

If the total is –1 or lower, read aloud:

This is a dark day for House Nagara. While you keep the governorship of Arrakis, few have condence
you will last another year in the role. In recompense for your actions the Harkonnens are granted custo-
dianship of your home planet to ’take away another burden of responsibility’. You
You have little doubt your
people will suffer under their guardianship. But there is still hope. Perhaps you will be able to turn your
fortunes around. Maybe you can master Arrakis and reclaim what you have lost.

If the total is between 0 to 5, read aloud:

You have made mistakes,

You mistakes, but the spice
spice is what matters.
matters. You
You have proved
proved yourselves on Arrakis
Arrakis and so
the Landsraad is merciful. Recompense to the Harkonnens costs you dearly, but the injustice is what hurts
the most. You have time, and once you have mastered the spice you will have your revenge on House
Harkonnen.

If the total is 6 or above, read aloud:

Evidence doesn’t
Harkonnens matter
ever did, andwhen spice
that is in involved.
all the LandsraadYou
You have
truly proved
cares yourselves
about. better
The Baron’s governors
complaints arethan
complaints the
ignored
and no recompense is ordered by the Landsraad. Arrakis remains yours. You You know the Harkonnens will
continue to plot against you to take back control of the spice, but you will be ready for them, and ready
to serve a revenge that will make the Imperium tremble.

AG E N T S O F D U N E / C A M PA I G N S E T 115

If the characters complete their assassination successfully, the following occurs:

@ Nikula – Nobody cares. It clearly wasn’t him. Try again with a different suspect.

@ Sareela – Zaan tries to escape to Giedi Prime. The player characters can make a Move test at Difculty 5
to catch him before he leaves and deliver some form of justice. Nikula reports the murder of Sareela to the
Baron, who orders his immediate execution for failing to protect the Harkonnen spymaster.
@ Zaan – Realizing the player characters are not to be tried with (and that he may be next) Sareela secretly
offers them evidence of Zaan’s misdoings in return for his life. If they already have that evidence it is up to
the player characters what to do with him. Either way, as above Nikula is executed for failing to protect the
mentat.
At this point add up points gained from the four spice session results in the following way:
@ 2 points for each Exceeding Targets

@ 1 point for each Meeting Targets

@ –1 point for each Going Badly

If the total is –1 or lower, read aloud:

Your spice produc-

While you have claimed vengeance from House Harkonnen the battle is far from over. Your
tion has been woefully inadequate and it in only because a change in governorship might damage it
further you are left in charge. The hungry eyes of the Imperium are on you now and you will have to work
hard to hold on to Arrakis.

If the total is between 0 to 5, read aloud:

Y
You
ou have made mistakes,
mistakes, but the spice
spice is what matters
matters and in that you
you have prevailed. The Imperium will
will
always want more, but you have proved yourselves competent masters of Arrakis. Now the work really
begins.

If the total is 6 or above, read aloud:

You
You have proved
proved yourselves better governors Harkonnens ever were and that is all the Land-
governors than the Harkonnens
sraad truly cares about. The Emperor himself commends your skill and dedication. While you have
proved yourself and your House, you now have a potent reputation to maintain. But for now you can feel
satised you have mastered the spice.

Then for all results, continue (read aloud):

While you may have had vengeance, the battle for Dune is far from over.
The Harkonnens are still a force to reckon with and clearly have not given up their designs on the planet.
You
You have made a deadly enemy,
enemy, but one you areare ready to pay back in kind.
You
You have
have control
control of
of Arrakis
Arrakis — for now
now and prove
proved
d yourselves
yourselves true Agents
Agents of
of Dune.
Dune. But can you
you hold onto
this new found power, become true masters of Arrakis, and nally throw off the yoke of House Harkonnen?